A Different Beginning
by remake
Summary: What if Kara and Lee had never met prior to the start of the mini-series?
1. Chapter 1

A Different Beginning

Title: A Different Beginning  
Time-line: From the start  
Pairing: Kara\Lee  
Rating: T  
Genre: Adventure & Romance  
Disclaimer: Borrowed from RDM&BSG

A.N.--------Starting from the mini-series and it is AU

Chapter 1

Commander Adama was waiting on his son, Lee Adama to arrive for the decommissioning ceremony of the Galactica. He was hopeful that after the two years following his youngest sons death that his oldest and last child would forgive him. He knew that Lee blamed him for Zak's accident and he hoped that their time apart had helped Lee to see that he was not to blame.

Bill Adama thought back to the last time he had seen Zak. It had been early one morning that Zak had showed up at their house and told him that he had failed basic flight training on vipers and would be taking his test for raptors. At the time he thought it might have been a good idea, but hindsight proved that Zak was no more capable in raptors than he was in vipers, but he had told him how proud he was of him for trying out on raptors. What he now realized was that he should have asked him about his viper scores and then he would have known, but Zak seemed so happy that he had let it go. That is what Lee blamed him for.

Adama heard the announcement that Apollo was landing and let his mind drift once more. He had been out on maneuvers when he got the call that Zak had died while trying to land his raptor on a battlestar as part of his last series of tests. He not only died but so did the ECO in training with him. They said that Zak must have looked away for a second because he hit part of the side of the battlestar which caused his raptor to crash and explode upon impact. He knew that growing up Zak had a hard time keeping his mind on one thing at a time before trying to do something else. Lee was nothing like Zak, he was single-minded and had to always do everything to perfection before moving on to something else. His two sons were as different as night and day, which was how they were born one at night and the other during the day.

* * *

Adama stopped his musings when he heard a knock at his hatch. " Enter " he called and in came Kara " Starbuck " Thrace who seemed to be a combination of both his sons. During the last year having her on his ship had been a blessing and a curse, she was one of the best pilots he had ever known, but one of the worst at getting along with her superiors. She seemed to only listen to him but that was not to say she always listened, but give her an order and she would obey. In a short year she had become like a daughter to him and he hoped to introduce her to Lee while he was here.

Kara entered and stood at attention while waiting on Adama to put her at ease. She knew he was worried about seeing his son again and wondered if this meeting had anything to do with that. About three months ago he had told her most of what had happened concerning him and his two sons. She knew he blamed himself for his youngest sons death, but she couldn't understand the oldest son blaming him for it. She knew he blamed himself enough without the added pressure from '" Apollo ". Yes, she knew the name and that he was almost as good a pilot as she was and that the commander wanted her to meet him. She was not looking forward to meeting the man that has caused her commander so much grief, but for him she had agreed.

" At ease Starbuck " he finally told her not quite sure how long he had left her at attention.

" You wanted to see me boss? " she asked after standing down

Adama sat down " Have a seat Kara there is something I need to tell you. " After pulling out some papers and waiting for her to sit he spoke. "Kara as you know this ship is being decommissioned and I know you haven't decided on what you want to do next, but I have just received a wire from Commander Cain about you. " He paused waiting for her to speak and when she only nodded he continued. "She wants you to serve your last year for her aboard the Pegagus. "

Kara was at a loss for words for a second " Why would she want someone with my record sir?" and then she added " You know I don't follow just anybody's orders. "

Adama coughed before speaking, to keep from smiling, this was serious after all. " It's either this or the teaching position back at the academy and although I think you would make a great instructor it might do you some good to serve under another commander on a different ship. "

Kara decided a joke was in order " If I do this and get court marshaled can I call you? "

Adama nodded and smiled " You had better keep in touch and not just when you need something and if you decide on the Pegagus you will go with Apollo when he escorts the Secretary of Education back to Caprica."

Kara smiled " Does that mean my viper comes with me? "

" It does, besides what am I going to do with it." Adama told her

" Speaking of all that when do I get to meet the famous Apollo? " Kara asked smiling

Adama stood up and headed to the hatchway " He has just landed, so now if you want to walk with me. "

Kara stood also and fell in step next to him " I guess there is no time like the present " she muttered

Adama knew his son would go straight to the pilots briefing room so he headed there.

* * *

Lee was not at all happy about having to attend this ceremony and couldn't wait until he could leave and head to Caprica to visit his mom. He hadn't spoken to his dad in almost two years, but he kept up with him through his mother and knew that retiring the Galactica would be hard for his dad. Lee also knew that Zak's death wasn't his fathers fault, but he needed to blame someone so it seemed his father was the logical choice. His mom had also told him that his father was really close to a female viper pilot, which seemed odd to Lee, but why should he care. Zak had been the one who wanted to please their father, not him. Just the same Lee had to wonder who this pilot was that his father would like so much, she was probably a by the book pilot otherwise his father would not like her so much.

Lee thought back to the last time he had seen Zak, it was right before he started viper classes at the academy. He had been at home for the weekend when Zak had came in all excited about vipers. All through dinner Zak had went on and on about beating his scores in viper school, when their father had brought up the fact that some of Lee's scores had already been beat. When Zak asked by who their father had answered by simply saying "Starbuck. " To this day Lee still hadn't asked who " Starbuck " was. Lee looked down at his watch and wondered how much longer he could put off seeing his father. He was just about to leave the pilots briefing room when he heard his fathers voice followed by female laughter. Well it was now or never he thought, too bad it could be never, so he braced himself for the now.

* * *

Adama knew as well as Kara that he was taking the long way to the briefing room, but he was nervous about seeing Lee after so long. He also knew that he had Kara come along as a buffer. He looked beside himself at Kara and figured he had better warn her again about his son. "Starbuck when you first meet Lee just try to overlook some things that might be said, he really is a good man and one I can't take much credit for."

Kara looked at him " Sir if he is half the man you are things will be okay " she didn't know what else to say to put him at ease. She knew the commander could be a hard man but he was also a fair man.

" I wasn't around much when he was growing up, so I missed out on getting to know him, but he is a great viper pilot" he told her.

Kara thought about making a joke instead she said " I guess we will find out during the fly-over " Adama smiled and she laughed knowing he knew what she was thinking.

" Take it easy on him Starbuck he doesn't fly like you, hell I don't think anybody flies like you " Adama chuckled which led to Kara laughing. They had made it to the hatch of the briefing room.


	2. Chapter 2

A Different Beginning-----Chapter 2

A.N.: ------AU and starting from the Mini-Series. I am writing this solo so I am sorry for any mistakes.

Chapter 2

Lee decided to turn and face the blackboard and pretend to be studying it when his father came in. He never thought his father would bring the woman he heard laughing into the room with them, but he clearly intended to do just that. Lee stayed where he was and began to read the names posted on the flight board and was shocked to see the name Starbuck right next to his. Great he thought, not only did he have to see his father but he would also be flying with Starbuck in the fly-over. He definitely was not looking forward to that. Lee decided he would stay turned away from the hatchway making his father have to speak first.

Adama entered the room and saw that Lee was reading the flight schedule. " Hello Lee " Adama said forcing Lee to turn and speak to him.

Lee turned seeing his father standing with a blond woman. He came to attention saluting " Hello Commander "

" At ease Captain " Adama said keeping up the formality

Adama and Kara walked closer " Lee can we cut the military bravado, I would like you to meet Lt. Kara Thrace "

Kara stepped forward extending her hand " Hello Captain Adama, it is nice to meet you "

Lee shook her hand more out of politness than anything else " Hello Lt. Thrace "

Adama spoke up " It is good to see you and congratulations on making Captain "

Kara had stepped back watching the exchange between father and son. She was starting to feel uncomfortable and began looking around the room just to have something to do. They exchanged a few more words while she was looking around and she tuned back in when she heard her name.

Adama was speaking " Lt. Thrace is a viper pilot just like yourself and will be participating in the fly-over with you "

" I see " Lee said glancing back at the board " And I also see that Starbuck will be flying as well "

Adama looked at him strangely " That is what I just said Lee "

Lee was watching them when a strange knot started forming in his stomach, no way he thought. There was no way that this woman could be Starbuck, could it be he thought.

Lee thought back to that dinner a long time ago " You are not saying that this woman is Starbuck, are you?

Kara smiled then " The one and only Apollo "

Gods Lee thought, could this day get any worse.

Kara excused herself after that " Commander I need to be going, it was good to meet you Apollo "

" You too Lt. Thrace " Lee said

" Where are you headed Starbuck ? " Adama asked

Kara answered as she was walking away " I need to check on my viper before the briefing "

* * *

Lee was watching her walk away when his father coughed to get his attention.

Not knowing what else to say to his father now that they were alone he grabbed onto his first thought " So I guess that was who beat some of my scores at the academy "

Adama decided it was a safe topic after two years and responded " Yes, she is one hell of a viper pilot Lee and is now our lead pilot "

" How long has she been here on Galactica? Lee asked

" A year, but if she accepts Commander Cains offer she will be flying back with you " Adama answered

Lee looked at his father then " Why would she not accept to serve on the Pegagus? "

Adama decided it would not hurt to tell Lee of Kara's other offer " The academy has asked her to teach at Viper school."

Lee looked at him dumbfounded " Is she really that good?"

" They say she is one of the best the academy has ever taught " Adama said with a proud smile

Lee looked at the smile on his fathers face and wondered how close his father and this viper pilot were and started wishing for the first time that he could stay longer. If she was half the pilot that his father said he could not wait to fly with her.

When Lee did not respond Adama decided to change the subject " It is good to see you Lee and thanks for coming to the decommissioning "

" Sure " was all Lee had time to say because a group of pilots had walked in.

Adama turned to see what Lee was looking at and found four of his pilots standing at attention. " At ease guys and I would like to introduce you all to my son, Captain Adama "

All of the pilots said hello but one stepped forward to shake his hand " Hello Apollo "

" Captain this is Lt. Karl Agathon better known as Helo " Adama said " Helo have you seen the CAG?"

Helo stepped back away from Apollo to answer his commander, smiling he said " Yeah, he is trying to get Starbuck out from under her viper "

Adama smiled again " Well I guess we had better give him ten more minutes "

" Yeah you know Kara she always has to check out her own viper before she takes off " Helo said chuckling

Lee wondered who this man was that he did not call Starbuck by her rank or callsign. Who the hell was this woman he thought. First his father and now this man smiled when they spoke of her.

Adama got ready to leave " I will see you after the fly-over Lee and don't forget Starbuck may be flying back with you "

This got Helos attention " Where is Kara going Sir?"

" I think I will let Starbuck tell you that Helo " Adama said as he walked away leaving his son with the other pilots

* * *

After his father left Lee took a seat in the second row and noticed that Helo sat in front of him.

A few minutes later and the room had filled up with pilots and Lee noticed only one person had sat by Helo leaving the chair to the right of him open. He didn't have long to wonder why, because Starbuck came and sat in the open seat next to Helo after giving him a quick look and a small smile.

The CAG then entered and he knew this because someone called the room to attention.

" At ease everyone, lets get this briefing started as it seems I am running late " he said giving a look in Starbucks direction, which was followed by a few snickers.

" First of all I would like to welcome Apollo who will be leading the fly-over today. " the CAG looked down at his notes " Apollo you will have the privilege of flying the same viper your father flew twenty years ago, the deck crew found it and has restored it to its original state."

Lee wanted to say he had his own viper, but one look around the room at the other pilots and he decided against saying anything. He tuned backed in because the CAG had continued speaking.

" After the ceremony I want all particapting pilots to land and Starbuck and Apollo you two are ordered to go to the Commanders office as soon as you have finished your checklist " Kara then glanced back at him with a shrug of her shoulders. " As for the rest of you, those not on stand-by will be attending the ceremony." He gathered his notes together " That will be, dismissed everyone "

After the CAG left the room everyone started dispersing except Starbuck, she had waited by the hatchway for Apollo. " Come on Apollo and I will show you to the old mans viper " she said

Lee did not respond he just fell into step next to her. He did notice on the way to the hangar deck that people tended to give her the right of way. That made him think once again she must be a by the book pilot.  
And he also noticed that she did not have anything to say to him either. Well, at least he would get a chance to see her fly and he would be leading the fly-over which meant she had to follow his lead. Finally they had arrived at the hangar deck and except for two vipers being Mark II the rest were Mark VII. That left him something else to wonder about.

* * *

Kara knew she must seem impolite by not making conservation with Apollo, but she had a lot to think about. She still had not decided on what she wanted to do with her last year. In some ways she wanted to teach but she would hate to give up being able to fly everyday. Kara figured that was what Adama wanted to see her about but why did he want to see her with Apollo she wondered.

She looked over at Apollo walking next to her and thought that at least she would get one chance to fly with the old mans son. She could not wait to see how he flew, she figured he was a by the book pilot just by the way he acted. She wondered what he thought of her, she had not missed the looks he had given his father and her during their first meeting. Well, she thought with a smile she may just have to show him her style of flying.

* * *

( Leave a comment )


	3. Chapter 3

A Different Beginning------Chapter 3

A.N.----AU and it starts at the mini-series. I am writing this solo so I am sorry for any mistakes.---- Also I thought I should mention that while this story may follow canon somewhat I have no intention of rewriting the series verbatim. There will be changes to the storyline as I intend on keeping Starbuck and Apollo as a team in most things.

Chapter-- 3

When they entered the hangar bay Kara walked Apollo over to the viper he would be flying " Here you go Apollo, what do you think?" Kara asked as she ran her hands over the nose of the viper.

Lee looked at the viper then turned and looked at the others ready to go " Who will be flying the other Mark II?" he asked avoiding answering her. He noticed when he asked her about the other viper that a huge smile appeared on her face.

" That would be mine " she said proudly

" Why don't you have a Mark VII like everyone else?" he asked

She looked at him like he should know the answer, but when he kept waiting for her to answer she realized he did not. " I could have one, but I like the Mark II."

" Why?" he asked

Kara looked at him funny and said " I do not like to rely on electronics, I prefer to fly my on bird "

Lee decided to let it go when he realized it was another thing she had in common with his father. Which made him wonder more about their relationship. His musings were cut short when she turned to walk away, and he decided to say something " See you out there Starbuck."

She looked back over her shoulder and gave him what he could only interpet as a shit eating grin " That you will Apollo " she said

He grabbed his checklist and started going over everything when he heard someone call out to her and he turned to see the chief of the deck approaching her. Lee could not hear what they were saying but he could tell that they got along well. It seemed to him that she got along fairly well with a lot of people. In his experience he found that most times people tended to not like the lead pilot too much, so this woman was fast becoming a mystery to him. As the chief started walking away he heard him say " Try to bring it back in one piece this time Starbuck. " Lee saw her give the chief a huge grin as she responded " You know I'll do my best chief. "

He finished his checklist and handed it to a young woman who was standing by waiting on him to finish. Lee then climbed into his viper after watching the other four pilots get into theirs.

* * *

After they launched Lee ordered a wide trip around the Galactica while waiting on his fathers speech to began. He did this so he could get used to the Mark II, cause he had only flown the Mark VII for the last two years.

They had not needed to practice because it would be a simple five man fly-over after the speech ended. He would lead with Starbuck flying on his right and Pincher to his left, with the last two pilots bringing up the rear.

Everything went well as they completed their circuit of the Galactica so he ordered them into a holding formation while they listened to his fathers speech. Lee knew that his father had deviated from his prepared speech when he brought up the fact that everyone should be held accountable for their own actions. He wondered if he was referring to Zak and how Lee had blamed him for it. Lee knew now that even his father would not have been able to talk Zak out of flying raptors.

* * *

Kara had decided she would play nice during the circuit run, but that did not mean she would during the fly-over. She had something planned for her last time above the Galactica and she knew her commander would understand, she just hoped Apollo would not get his flight suit in a bunch.

She heard Apollo tell them to get ready and watched his viper for the start of the run to began. They made their first pass and turned to run it again and as soon as she saw the beginning of the Galactica she flipped her viper upside down so she could see the people gathered below. She could hear the crowd get louder and she looked to her right and saw that her wing-man " Pincher " had done the same. Kara looked ahead of her and saw Apollo's viper stutter for just a second, yeah she thought he is going to be pissed. Kara could not help but smile, she thought she might have just gotten under his calm exterior.

Kara righted her viper and prepared for landing. As soon as she popped the canopy she could hear the deck crew applauding and whistling. As she was descending the stairs she saw Apollo headed her way and he did not look happy. Oh well she thought, it was worth whatever he had to say, besides she had not done anything wrong it was just a fly-over.

* * *

As soon as the speech was ending Lee signaled the other vipers to start their run. He was pleased after the first run of the fly-over, everything had went well and then they turned to start their last run so he relaxed thinking it would soon be over. As soon as he saw the Galactica ahead he started in for the last leg and then all of a sudden he heard through his helmet the crowd getting louder and turned to look behind him. When he saw Starbuck had flipped her viper upside down and then Pincher had done the same he became livid. Why would she pull something that he had not given the order for, he thought to himself.

Ordinarily he would have said something to the pilots before landing but he was so mad he kept his mouth shut and prepared to land. He held back while the others landed and watched as Starbuck and Pincher landed in tandem, while the other two pilots landed separately. What the frak did she think she was doing, he was the lead pilot on this, not her.

As soon as he landed and popped his canopy he could hear the applause and for some reason this just made him madder. Well he thought, he would just go over there and confront her and maybe take her down a peg or two.

As soon as he got within three feet of her he started yelling " What the frak did you think you were doing out there?"

Kara stepped down off the ladder and stood with her shoulders straight not giving an inch " Relax Apollo, it was not that big of a deal " she said a little loud

Lee stepped a foot closer and pointed his finger at her " It was not planned and you know it " he said with a raised voice

Kara noticed that the deck had gotten quite but she would not let him get the upper hand, after all it was her last day here. " First get your finger out of my face and second get over it already for fraks sake " she yelled and tried to walk past him

Lee didn't know what come over him, but before he knew it he had grabbed her by the arm as she tried to walk off and he ended up with her fist planted on his jawbone. And again Lee did not know how it happened but before he knew it he had hit her back, that is when he felt someone grab him from behind and saw someone grab her.

As they stood there pulled apart the CAG walked up " What is going on here?" he asked

Helo was holding Kara back so he spoke " I think it was just a small misunderstanding, Sir "

The CAG looked around and saw people gathered around watching " Everybody get back to work " he yelled and then he looked at Helo and Pincher " And you two let them go and get back to work also "

The CAG looked at both of them after Helo and Pincher had left " I am not sure I want to know what happened here so I will just let this go if you two are through " he said

" I am sir " Kara said and Lee just nodded his assent

" The commander is waiting to see you both after you finish your checklists and by the way Starbuck that was a nice move out there, I am sure the commander enjoyed it " the CAG said

Lee could not believe what he was hearing, the CAG was okay with what she had pulled " Captain I believe I was the lead pilot out there today and I did not give her permission to pull that stunt "

The CAG looked at him finally understanding what was going on " I'm sure that was just Starbucks way of saying good-bye to the crew and Galactica, Apollo "

Lee looked over at Starbuck and saw her with that shit eating grin again and it mad him even madder, but he decided not to get into it with the CAG " If that is all I need to finish up " he said as he walked away. As he was walking away he heard Starbuck say " Thank you Captain " which made him grit his teeth.

* * *

Kara finished her checklist first and instead of waiting on Apollo she headed to the old mans office. She knew the commander had probably already heard what happened between her and Apollo so she wanted to get there first.

Kara still could not believe how mad Apollo had gotten, it really was not that big of a deal. She did not mean to hit him it was just a reflex from him grabbing her arm, and she still could not believe he had hit her back, but kudos to him she thought with a smile. Kara also knew the commander would see her swelling jaw and hoped he would not say anything to Apollo because after all she had hit him first.

* * *

As Lee was going over his checklist he thought back to what had happened. How could he have ever thought she was a by the book pilot . It seemed that everyone except him had expected something from her out there today, even the CAG. Not only that but the CAG seemed to think that his father would approve. Now that he had time to cool down he supposed it was not that big of a deal, and hitting her back was not something he could believe he had done.

Lee finished what he was doing and was looking around for her to apologize, when the same small woman from before took his checklist and said " Starbuck left five minutes ago Apollo, and if you don't mind my saying so if you are thinking of apologizing, don't "

Lee looked down at her wondering how she knew what he was thinking " Why not ?" he asked wondering what her name was.

" My name is Cally and respect is why not " She said, leaving Lee once again wondering how she knew his thoughts.

" Respect ? " he asked dumbfounded

Cally answered with a smile " Yeah, there is not many people who stand up to Starbuck, so apologizing would be the wrong thing to do if you want her to respect you. "

Lee did not know how to respond to that so he just said " Thank you Cally " and headed to his fathers office with a lot to think about.

* * *

( Leave a comment )


	4. Chapter 4

A Different Beginning-----Chapter 4

A.N.---- Au and it starts at the mini-series. I am writing this solo so I am sorry for any mistakes.----Also I thought I should mention that while this story may follow canon somewhat I have no intention of rewriting the series verbatim. There will be changes to the storyline as I intend on keeping Starbuck and Apollo as a team in most things.

Chapter----4

Adama was in his office finishing up some of the last paperwork he would ever have to do concerning the Galactica. After a few more minutes he put his pen down and started thinking about the last two hours when he had met with the Secretary of Education ' Laura Roslin ' before the ceremony began. Adama still could not believe her suggestion to have the Galactica networked. He had told her in no uncertain terms that until it was decommissioned he would not allow it. She had not been pleased, but she let it go as they continued the tour.

Adama also thought about the speech he had given and hoped Lee had been paying attention to one part especially. Then he remembered the fly-over and was pleased when Starbuck had left her mark on the ceremony, so to speak. Adama knew that Lee had no idea she was going to pull that move and he hoped his son had let it go. He did not want their last meeting to go bad, but he could not blame Starbuck for wanting to say good-bye in her own way.

He had gone back to his paperwork when the phone rang, it was Chief Tyrol letting him know what happened on the flight deck between Apollo and Starbuck. Adama hung up the phone , " Frak " he said, now he knew this meeting would not go as he thought. Adama now wished he had not ordered them both to come at the same time.

Adama got up and took out three glasses and immediately filled his up with scotch. Might as well get started on his drink early, he thought. Just as he was finishing his first drink he heard a knock at the hatch and he hoped it was only one of them. He sat back down at his desk and called out " Enter ", steeling himself for what was to come.

* * *

Kara came in standing at attention " At ease Starbuck, this is an informal meeting " Adama told her. He offered her the seat across from him " Have you made up your mind about what you are going to do?" and as he asked Adama could not help but notice her reddening jaw.

Kara saw him looking at her jaw and as she reached up to rub it she said " It is not as bad as it looks and I take it you know what happened "

" Yes, the chief called to let me know " Adama said then continued " I assume you hit him first " at her nod he went on " And I also assume you want me to let this go?" he asked

" Yeah, it was my fault really, he grabbed my arm and instinct took over after that " she said adjusting herself in the chair " By the way your son has quick reflexes " she said with a grin

" Listen Kara, I am sure he is sorry about hitting you, I don't think Lee has ever hit a woman before " he then asked " About your decision? "

Kara was glad that he was letting the incident go " I have decided to at least listen to Commander Cain before I decide, so I suppose I will be flying back with Apollo "

" Good I'm glad Kara, just know that the Pegagus will be different from the Galactica " and then added " I know Cain and she runs a tight ship "

Kara laughed " Is that your way of telling me to watch my insubordination?"

" I suppose it is " Adama said grinning " Now would you like a drink ?"

" You do know I am going to be flying soon, are you sure I need one?" she asked smiling

Adama poured her a glass and handed it to her " I know you Starbuck and one drink will not impair your flying " he raised his glass to her " Here's to the Galactica " he said

" So say we all " Kara said as she raised her glass to his before drinking and as she sat it down they heard a knock at the hatch.

* * *

When Lee reached his fathers cabin he knocked once and opened the hatch and walked in. He was surprised to find his father and Starbuck sitting comfortably together and having a drink apparently. Lee stopped just inside the hatchway and stood there not knowing what to say.

" Come in Lee, Kara and I were just talking about the Pegagus " his father said without bothering to stand.

Kara started to feel uncomfortable with the following silence so she stood up. " Yes, and I really need to go and pack my things now "

Lee noticed that when she stood up so did his father, but what happened next he never expected to see. He watched as his father came around the desk and stood before her.

Adama opened his arms wide " You are not leaving here without giving me a hug good-bye Kara " and Lee watched transfixed as Starbuck walked into his fathers open arms. She didn't seem surprised by his request as she walked into his embrace and hugged him back. Then Lee watched as his father pulled back from her and brushed her hair from her face and kissed her forehead softly before letting her go. Lee watched her straighten her shoulders and clear her throat before she said " Good-bye Sir, and thank you for everything " then for the first time since he entered the room she turned to face him.

Kara had dreaded having to face Apollo so soon after their altercation, but she turned to look at him despite it. Kara paused as she walked by him " See you on the deck Apollo " and then she went out the hatch.

Lee could only nod his head at her, he had no idea what to say as he was still reeling from watching her and his father. He looked at his dad to find him looking at him with a funny look on his face. " What? " Lee asked him.

Adama just shook his head " That is going to leave a nice bruise " and returned to his chair. " Have a seat Lee " Adama said as he refilled his glass.

" Do you plan on giving all of your pilots the same good-bye? " Lee asked as he took the chair that Starbuck had just left.

" Don't be pissy Lee, it doesn't suit you " Adama went to reach for the other glass " Do you want a drink?"

" Not before I fly " Lee answered wondering what the hell his father was thinking offering him a drink. Then he glanced and saw the empty glass in front of him " But I'm sure drinking doesn't factor into it when Starbuck flies, huh?" Lee did not know why he was being so petty, but he could not seem to shut up. " What is it between you two anyway?"

Adama figured he could be as petty as Lee was " I don't know what you mean, besides I could ask you the same thing " when Lee did not say anything he continued " I didn't know you hit women Lee "

Oh that was it Lee thought as he stood up " Oh I suppose you believe her version of what happened "and he continued " And for you information I have never hit a woman before today " Lee started pacing " I don't know what it is about her that made me lose control like that, I mean is she crazy or something?" Lee stopped and looked at his father waiting for his answer only to find him smiling " And that's another thing why do you always smile around her?" he asked loudly

Adama could tell Lee was getting riled up so he decided to diffuse the situation before it got out of hand. " "Relax Lee, besides I think if you spent enough time around her you would get to know all the answers to the questions, but seeing as you won't be around her after today don't worry about it " Adama cleared his throat " Anyway, I wanted to talk to you about what your plans are when you finish your tour on the Atlantia"

Lee didn't know what to think about the abrupt change of conservation so he sat back down " Reserves" he answered. Then Lees mind drifted back to Starbuck, for some reason he was not willing to let it go. " You know you didn't answer me when I asked you what was between you and Starbuck, dad"

Adama sighed he knew he was not going to get around this, Lee could be tenacious about somethings." Kara and I have became close during her year here on the Galactica "

" What exactly do you mean by close?" Lee asked, wondering if he really wanted to know

" Relax Lee it's not what you think, she has been like a daughter to me " there he said it now he was just waiting on Lee to explode

" Like a daughter?" Lee yelled " Well guess what, she's not !! "

" I know that Lee " Adama yelled back " Just forget it, you would not understand "

Lee crossed his arms " Try me "

Fine, Adama thought " Kara does not have anybody, so I have kinda been there for her "

" That's another thing " Lee said " Why do you call her Starbuck sometimes and Kara other times?"

" Why are you so interested Lee ?" Adama asked him

Lee had to stop and think, why the frak was he so interested, for some reason he wanted to try and understand her. " Just answer the question, dad "

Adama realised Lee was not letting this go for some reason " Most times she is Starbuck, but every once in a while she is just Kara "

Lee unfolded his arms and placed his hands on the desk " That does not make any sense "

Adama wondered how in the frak to explain this to Lee " When you were flying and fighting with her she was Starbuck, but when you saw her in this office with me she was Kara and that doesn't happen very often "

Lee thought about that for a minute even though it still did not make sense, then he thought of something else " So, since this Helo character calls her Kara I'm guessing he must be her boyfriend? " he asked

Adama looked at his son like he was the crazy one " Helo is not her boyfriend, he is her best friend and the only one allowed to call her Kara besides myself, plus there are frat regs Lee in case you forgot "

" That's funny I got the impression she had a lot of friends, I mean everyone seems to like her " Lee said thinking back over the last few hours

" No, not everyone, some like her, most respect her and some are just intimidated by her " Adama said explaining it the best he could " Now can we let this go, its not like you are going to see her after today "

Lee sighed and sat back willing to let it go because it seemed like every time he got an answer it just lead to more questions. " Fine, what are your plans after the retirement of Galactica?"

Adama was relived Lee was letting it go he felt like he was teaching a class on Starbuck 101. " I can either retire or take a desk job at headquarters, I'm not sure which, but I am leaning towards retirement "

Lee looked at his father closely " I can't see you doing either one, I mean it will be different being landlocked after all these years "

" Believe me I am not looking forward to it " Adama said as he was standing " Well son, I hate we have to cut this short but, I have a feeling that Laura Roslin will be ready to leave soon "

Lee stood also, knowing it was getting late " You know dad I am sorry for blaming you about Zak, I now know that you would not have been able to talk him out of flying "

Adama did not think, he just reached and grabbed his son and hugged him, he was so relieved to hear Lee say that.

To say that Lee was shocked when his dad hugged him would be an understatement, so he awkwardly hugged his father back. Lee pulled back first " Well I had better get to the deck, otherwise Starbuck may leave without me " Lee said trying to make a joke

Adama stopped him with a hand on his shoulder " Listen Lee, everything should be fine, but if something happens there is no better pilot to have flying your wing "

Lee just nodded and headed out the hatch, not knowing what else to say.

* * *

( Leave a comment )


	5. Chapter 5

A Different Beginning---Chapter 5

A.N.-------AU and it starts at the beginning of the mini-series. I am writing this solo so I am sorry for any mistakes.

Chapter 5

Kara had finished packing her few belongings and was on the flight deck waiting on Apollo. She hoped that the commander and his son had been able to have a civil conservation and that she had not caused too much trouble by getting into it with Apollo. In a way she wished she had more time to get to know him, for some reason she seemed to be able to make him mad fairly easy. It would have been fun to see if she could do it again, plus she had heard a lot about his flying ability. Kara's thoughts were cut shut short when she saw the CAG and Helo coming her way.

As they approached the CAG spoke first " Starbuck, I wanted to say good luck on your next assignment and to let you know that the first squadron and myself would be flying part of the way back with you. "

" Why? " Kara asked

The CAG figured it was a reasonable question " Commander Adama thought it would give us one last time to stretch our wings before we have to leave the Galactica "

Starbuck smirked " Thank the gods, at least it might not be so boring now "

The CAG got ready to walk away knowing that Helo wanted to say good-bye " We will see you in the air then "

Starbuck stopped him " Wait, you may need to let Apollo know, I don't think he likes surprises "

" I will " he said and then walked away

After the CAG left, Helo stood in front of Kara with his arms crossed giving her a measured look " So, were you planning on letting me in on your plans or were you just going to leave?"

Kara looked at her closest friend " Of course I was Karl, why do you think I came down here early?" she asked giving him one of her patented smiles " Things happened kinda fast and I did not have time before now "

Helo uncrossed his arms and grinned back at her " Really, cause it seems you found the time to fight with Apollo " when she got all serious looking and did not respond to his attempted joke he continued " So, what are you plans?"

" I'm not sure yet, the old man told me that Commander Cain wants me to serve my last year on the Pegagus, so now I have to decide between the academy instructors job or Cain's offer " she told him

Helo reached out and pulled her into a hug " Whatever you decide promise to keep in touch "

Kara hugged him back then pulled away and looked at him " I will and the same goes for you " and before she could say anything else she caught Helo looking at something over her shoulder and she turned to see Apollo standing a feet away looking in their direction. " Great " she muttered to herself, now she would have to find something to say to him, but before she could Helo spoke up. " Hey Apollo, did the CAG let you know about the squadrons plans?" Kara wondered when they had met.

Lee who had entered the flight deck a few minutes earlier had spotted Starbuck and Helo talking, so he stopped to watch them. They sure seemed close he thought, and then he remembered what his dad had said earlier and wondered if she was being Starbuck or Kara. It still didn't make sense to him, but for some reason he found himself curious. Then they saw him watching and Helo spoke to him while he noticed Starbuck stepping back. He figured she was still upset so he walked forward to meet them.

Lee answered Helo, but chanced a glance at Starbuck " No, what about the squadron?"

Helo looked at Kara thinking she would answer, but she stayed silent " They will be flying part of the way back with you " and then he grinned "And Boomer and I get to tag along "

Kara turned to Helo " Then I guess I will see you out there, I am going to do my pre- flight " she paused after taking a step and finally spoke to Apollo " See you in the air Apollo "

Lee scrambled for something to say " Listen about before, I am " but she did not let him finish " Never apologize Apollo " then she sauntered off.

Helo watched Apollo as he watched Kara walk away and felt he should say something " I would not worry about it, Kara gives as good as she gets"

Lee turned to look at the man beside him " Is she always so --- " Lee could not think of the right wrong to describe what he meant.

Helo answered him anyway understanding what he was asking " Yeah she is, but she can also be a very good friend or your worst nightmare " he said chuckling.

Gods Lee thought, he could not wait for this day to end. He came here expecting to have a short visit with his dad then be on his way. What he had not expected was to have his thoughts overrun about some woman he had never met before. Lee could not deny his interest in her though, not only was she a spitfire, she was also beautiful . He finally remembered that he was still standing with Helo and had not spoken, so he shook his thoughts loose " It was nice to meet you " Lee said as he extended his hand " I guess I should go "

Helo shook his hand " Yeah me too, I'll see you out there " and as Helo went to walk away Lee asked him " Should I expect any surprises out of Starbuck on this flight? "

Helo stopped and chuckled " I hope so, I bet my last cubits on it "

Great Lee thought " Well maybe the CAG can keep her from doing anything."

" I wouldn't count on it, I believe he was the one who started the bet " Helo said chuckling again

Lee just shook hid head and went to his viper.

*********************************************************************************************************************  
Kara had left Helo standing with Apollo and headed to her viper. She did not know how she really felt about him, she knew he flew well, but he seemed so uptight. Kara could not help but notice how good looking he was though, and that her thoughts had been on him a lot since she met him. After their little fight she did not know what to say to him, so she said as little as possible. Gods it was going to be a long flight. She glanced up from her pre-flight checklist and saw that Helo and him were still talking, she wondered what about.

Kara saw him tell Helo good-bye and head in the direction of his viper. Just as he got there she saw the CAG approach him and knew he was telling him about the squadrons plan. After that he grabbed his checklist and preceded to go through it. Kara finished hers and finished putting her flight suit on all the way and grabbed her helmet and headed up the stairs into her viper. She knew that they would launch first with the Colonial ship falling in behind them followed by the squadron. Before long they were all on their way to Caprica.

* * *

They had been flying for a couple of hours without incident. Lee had been listening to the back and forth banter between Starbuck and the rest of the pilots until Pincher all of of sudden spoke up.

" Hey Starbuck, you going to show us one more of your fancy moves before we peel off and head back to the Galactica?" Pincher asked

Kara thought about it " I don't think my wing-man would approve Pincher "

Then the CAG spoke up " You are still under my orders until I leave, so go ahead Starbuck show us what you got "

Lee could only groan because he knew the CAG was right, he just hoped she did not pull anything to reckless.

Kara thought about what she was going to do. She knew her and Apollo were safely ahead of the colonial ship and that the rest of the squadron was at the rear leaving Boomer's raptor to the left side of the colonial ship. While Kara was up front and to the right, she finally figured out what she was going to do and hoped Apollo did not freak out. " All right guys here goes nothing "

Kara flew a few yards up before she started rolling to her left five times ending up right above Apollo's viper upside down. Lee immediately started calling out " Where the frak did she go? "

Kara could not help but grin " Look up Apollo "

Lee looked up and saw her viper directly above his only a few feet away and upside down. There canopies were practically touching. " Are you fraking insane Starbuck? " he shouted. Kara just gave him a wink and a smirk. " Get your ass back in formation, now Starbuck!! " he yelled, he did not care what the CAG thought at this point.

Kara just gave him another wink before rolling back to her right and ending up in perfect formation once again. Lee could hear several ' whoops ' before the pilots started peeling off and saying good-bye . Then he heard Helo " Try to play nice the rest of the way Starbuck "

He heard Kara respond " I'll try my best Helo " and then they were gone, leaving Lee having to deal with her the rest of the way. All went smoothly for the next hour, and then suddenly the alerts started going off in their vipers.

" Starbuck, Apollo what is going on?" Lee asked beginning to get worried.

" Apollo, Starbuck I am showing two nukes headed our way " Starbuck yelled

" I see them, what do you think fired them?" Apollo asked

" I'm not sure yet, but we are going to have to intercept those nukes before they get close to the colonial ship " she told him

" Fine let's move to intercept, I will take the one on the left and you take care of the other " Apollo ordered

Then they both took off. Starbuck managed to take out hers fairly quickly, and even though Apollo had gotten to his right after the blast threw his viper back with force.

By that time the colonial ship had caught up to them and Starbuck headed in the direction of Apollo's viper. " Apollo, what happened to your viper?" she asked because it was no longer moving.

" The shock must have shut it off, and I have no control over it " he told her while still flipping switches.

Before Kara could get to him she caught something out of the corner of her eye " Frak , is that a cylon ship?' she asked herself. She knew it had been forty years since the cylon war, but she did not have any doubt that was what she was seeing. Without thinking she headed towards it hoping to draw it away from Apollo and the colonial ship.

" Apollo, Starbuck I'll be right back after I take out this cylon ship " she told him and then took off after it. Kara was relieved that her ship was still armed. As she flew toward it, the thing started firing and without thinking she started firing back. " Frak " she said, this thing was bobbing and weaving and she could not get a lock on it. Finally she decided to try and get above it hoping to the gods she could take it out before it got her. She flew high above it and started back down at an inverted angle and started firing. Just when she thought her luck had ran out she got it with a direct hit and was barely able to pull out of the way before it exploded.

As soon as she was clear and could stop shaking she headed back to Apollo, he was still just floating." Apollo I hate to tell you this, but the cylons are back " and then she asked " How is your viper ?"

Lee would not have believed what she just said, but he had watched her take out the cylon ship. " My viper is still dead, I need to get it back to the ship, but I don't see how."

" Just hold on, I will think of something " Kara flew beside him trying to work out how she was going to do this. " I think I have an idea, but you will have to trust me."

Lee just groaned and said " It looks like I don't have much choice "

Kara called the Captain of the colonial ship and had him pull into position directly ahead of Apollo's viper and stay in a holding position. After everyone was in position she got behind Apollo " Okay Apollo I am going to give you a little nudge, I will try to guide you inside very slowly, but I have no idea how you are going to stop. "

Lee was not to sure about her plan, but he did not have much choice " You do know that there is not much room for stopping "

Kara exhaled several times before speaking " Okay I have another idea, once I have given you enough momentum I am going to move in front of you and land first, I should be able to stop us both, but it will not be pretty "

Lee face paled " You are insane!! " he said, having no doubt about it now.

" Maybe, probably, but it is the only way, so let's just do this and try not to over think it " Kara told him as she nudged his viper then quickly flipped over his and began slowing down.

Lee could not believe what she was doing, but he had to admit that it might just work. And before he knew it they had safely landed both vipers inside the colonial ship. Lee took a moment to sit there and breathe, not quite believing it was all over. Then he remembered the cylons and popped his canopy and exited his viper. He saw Starbuck walking towards him with a huge grin on her face and before he knew it she had pulled him into a hug. " We made it " she whispered to him.

He pulled back slightly and looked into her hazel green eyes and with all seriousness said " Thank you Starbuck "

She realized they were still standing close, so she stepped back and cleared her throat " We had better go see the Captain and find out what is going on."

Lee just nodded and followed her off the deck.

* * *

( Leave a comment )


	6. Chapter 6

A Different Beginning----Chapter 6

A.N.---- AU and it starts at the mini-series. I am writing this solo, so I am sorry for any mistakes.

Chapter 6

Starbuck and Apollo were in the cockpit with the Captain when they received word that it was indeed a cylon invasion. Apparently Laura Roslin had just became President and was already issuing orders. They had heard from Commander Adama and were ordered to meet at Ragnar. Kara could not believe that Apollo had just told his father that they would be searching for survivors first. As Apollo was arguing with his father the alarms started blaring again.

Without thinking Lee threw the headset down and grabbed Starbuck by the hand, as she had been standing behind him. " Come on " he yelled while pulling her after him.

Kara let him pull her before she yanked her hand back " Where are we going?" she yelled as she continued to follow him.

Apollo looked back without stopping " Just trust me, I have an idea " So Kara continued running behind him and they ended up back at the flight deck, as much as it could be called that.

Lee stopped in front of two large generators and without waiting on her to ask he started explaining " We don't have much time, so do exactly what I tell you to do and we might get out of this." Lee started flipping switches and Kara did the same with the other one, even though she had no idea what his plan was. All of a sudden the generators roared to life and before they knew it they both crumpled to the deck.

* * *

Back on the Galactica, Adama watched as the colonial ship carrying his son and Kara disappeared off the dradis. He could not speak he was so upset, he had lost his son after just getting him back. He noticed the quietness that had fallen over the CIC " Report " he ordered. The technician Gaeta told him " They are gone sir, it was a fifty megaton blast, they could not have survived " he said without meeting his commanders eyes. Adama took a moment to breathe deeply " Prepare to jump " he ordered before walking out of the CIC.

* * *

Lee woke up to find President Roslin and the Captain standing over him. He grabbed the back of his neck and sat up slowly " What happened?"

" We were going to ask you the same thing, we only just woke up ourselves " President Roslin told him

Lee looked at the Captain " How long have I been out?"

" Best guess, a couple of hours, but the good news is that the cylons are no where in sight " the Captain answered

Lee suddenly heard a groan beside him and looked over, gods he had forgot about Starbuck " What the frak did we do Apollo?" Kara asked as loudly as she dared because she felt like she had went ten rounds in the boxing ring.

Lee stood up and offered her his hand, which she took, and pulled her to her feet " We set off two EMP pulse generators, which by us still being here, I take it that they worked "

The Captain spoke up " Thanks to the two of you we are still alive, what exactly did those things do?"

" It shut down the missiles causing them to blow before impact, unfortunately it probably also shut down this ship and all communications as well " Lee explained

Kara who was still dazed finally noticed that she was still holding onto Apollo's hand and shook it loose. He looked at her " I am alright now " she said by way of explanation and then she headed to her viper.

Lee called after her " Starbuck, where are you going?" she turned around " Back out there of course, someone has to protect this ship " she began heading back towards her viper.

Apollo walked over to where she was, as the Captain and the President walked off, having to speak to her back " It will take a while before this ship and yours comes back on-line"

Kara rounded on him then " Why did you disobey our Commanders orders to jump to Ragnar?" she asked raising her voice.

Lee just looked at her " There could still be civilians out there Starbuck and President Roslin ordered it "

She looked at him and spoke very slowly " We are in the military Apollo and our job is to follow Commander Adama's orders "

" Not when it comes to civilian lives Starbuck, because that is also in our job description you know, to protect them at all costs " Lee finished daring her to disagree.

Kara opened her mouth to say something when she noticed a raptor landing and took off towards it. She watched as the hatch opened and saw several women and children exiting followed by Boomer. What she did not see was Helo " Where the frak is Helo? " she nearly yelled it at Boomer.

Boomer had been dreading facing Starbuck with the news about Helo. Still she couldn't not answer her " We took several hits and had to land on Caprica and repair the raptor " she looked down at her feet before looking back at Starbuck. "There were civilians surrounding us and Helo told me to get some of them to safety, he had to hold the others back with his gun because they were trying to climb onto the raptor as I was taking off "

Starbuck finally relaxed her stance " Sounds just like him " she then stepped towards the raptor and when Boomer did not follow she turned around " Come on Boomer, we are going back after him "

Boomer did not move " Starbuck we can't, there were bombs dropping all around the site, so I doubt he is even still alive " she said quietly

" You don't know that " Starbuck screamed at her

Boomer figured she had better give her the rest of the news " Starbuck there is something else " when Starbuck just glared at her with her hands on her hips she continued " The CAG and the rest of the squadron are dead "

" How? " Kara barely whispered her question

" It seems the cylons were able to shut the Mark VII's down and it left them sitting ducks " Boomer told her

Kara gasped " Are you sure they are all dead?"

Boomer simply nodded her head, she knew it was a lot for Starbuck to take at one time.

Lee who had been standing a few feet away, after following her when she took off, had been listening to the exchange and walked over " I am sorry Starbuck, but she is right about Caprica, plus I think the President will want to use this raptor to try and find civilian ships "

Kara glared at him knowing he was right, but not wanting to accept it. Instead of saying anything she stalked off, before she hit him again.

Boomer turned to Apollo " Thank you, it nearly killed me to leave him there and I knew it would be hard trying to explain it to Starbuck, plus having to tell her about the squadron "

Lee did not have anything to say to that " Let's go see President Roslin and find out what she wants you to do "

Lee did not know where Starbuck went and frankly he did not have time to deal with her right now. He knew she could not get far, but then he stopped and thought a second, then turned to Boomer " Lock down the raptor, I don't trust that Starbuck won't try to take it and head back to Caprica "

Boomer looked at him funny then went to do as she was ordered.

* * *

Kara knew she needed to find a quite place to process all that had just happened so she headed to her viper and climbed inside. Once there she started thinking about everything that had happened. She should have been on the Pegagus by now, but instead the world as she knew it had just ended. As Kara sat there and thought about Helo, Pincher and the rest of the pilots she let the tears fall. After a while she wiped her face and reached under her seat for the tools she kept there and climbed back out. Kara slid under her viper knowing she needed to check for damage. All in all everything seemed as well as could be expected. She then slid out and went to check on Apollo's viper, cause she knew they would be needing them.

Kara could not find any major damage to his either so she went back to hers to see if she could fire it up. Kara thanked the gods when it fired up and then she powered it back down. That is when she looked out and saw Apollo approaching.

" Starbuck could you come down here ?" Apollo called to her. As she climbed out Lee hoped she had pulled herself together because he had work for her to do.

Kara planted herself in front of him " What? " she asked a bit snarky

Lee let her attitude go because he knew this day was only going to get worse. " Boomer is going out to look for survivors and as you know she needs an ECO " he saw her flinch when he said that.

" Why can't you do it?" she asked with her hands balled into fists by her side " I just got my viper started and I need to be out there protecting this ship"

Lee thought about it for a second then remembered " I think we will be okay, besides the cylons think that we blew up, remember "

Kara thought damn him and his logical thinking " Fine, I'll do it, but as soon as we are through I am taking the raptor to Ragnar " then she stalked off towards a waiting Boomer.

Lee let out the breath he did not realize he was holding and thought things could have gone a lot worse. He waited until they took off and headed back to the cockpit.

* * *

Kara was glad that she had come with Boomer, it had helped take her mind off of things. Not only had they found several civilian ships, but they had also found some that would be beneficial to the Galactica. They had found close to fifty thousand survivors and were now headed back to Colonial One, as it had now been renamed.

Kara also knew that now they could jump to Ragnar and meet up with the Galactica. She found she could not wait to get back there. It was not very long after they got back that they were heading down toward Ragnar Station and the Galactica.

Kara got off as soon as she could and headed for the flight deck.

********************************************************************************************************************  
Lee felt very drained and was glad they were finally jumping to meet up with the Galactica. He knew his father probably thought they were dead and he was anxious to see him. At least Starbuck seemed to be in better spirits, Lee knew today had been rough on her also.

Lee got off of Colonial One as soon as they docked and ran into Starbuck who seemed to be in a hurry to get somewhere " Where are you headed?" he asked her

Kara looked at him a second and thought for the first time that she was glad he had made it back alive along with her. She new the old man would be happy " I am headed to see if the chief needs any help with the planes." then she asked " Where are you headed?'

" I was planning on finding my father, but it seems the President needs me to see about some supplies for the fleet " Lee told her

Kara looked at him " I think your first priority should be your dad "

" Believe me, it is my first choice, but I have to try and help the President before I can do that" he answered her

" Well, I am off, but if I see him I will let him know you are alive " she told him as she walked off

" Thanks Starbuck " he yelled to her back as she walked away

Kara glanced back over her shoulder and gave him a small nod before continuing on to the hangar deck.

* * *

( Leave a comment )


	7. Chapter 7

A Different Beginning----Chapter 7

A.N.-----AU and it starts with the mini-series. Also, I am writing this solo, so I am sorry for any mistakes.

A.N.----- I am not very happy with this chapter, but here it is anyway. ( It is hard bringing Lee and Kara together gradually)

Chapter----7

Lee had finally managed to help President Roslin with her request for supplies. It was just his luck that he had to deal with Colonel Tigh, but at least he was now free to go in search of his father. Lee still could not get over the fact that his father had left the ship to deal with things personally on Ragnar Station. He was now headed to his father's office.

As he waited in his father's office he started looking around. Lee was looking at a picture of him and Zak when his father entered. As he turned toward him he got a look at all the cuts on his face and arms. Upon closer inspection he saw blood on his father.

" Dad, what happened to you?" Lee asked concerned

Adama who had paused upon seeing Lee in his office responded " It's not my blood Lee" Adama then walked toward Lee and hugged him "How did you make it out alive, we thought the missiles had taken you out?" he asked

Lee hugged his dad back before pulling away " It is a long story, whose blood is that on you? "

Adama walked over to his desk and poured a drink before sitting down " That's a long story too, but one I will tell you about, in the meeting that is about to take place "

Lee sat down in the chair in front of the desk and helped himself to a drink " Who are we waiting on?"

Adama sighed " The new president and Colonel Tigh " he paused, then asked " I take it Starbuck came back with you? "

" Yeah, she went to the flight deck to help the chief " Lee told him after taking a drink

" How is she doing Lee?" Adama asked as he finished his drink

It was Lee's turn to sigh, he should have expected the question " As well as can be expected, she is upset over losing Helo and the rest of the squadron"

Adama replied " Well, I suspect she is going to be upset some more when she talks to Chief Tyrol "

Lee did not really want to know why, but he asked anyway " Why?"

Adama poured another drink before answering " Between the missile impacts and the fire we lost around eighty souls from the deck and maintenance crews "

Lee gasped " Aw frak, what are we going to do?"

Adama gripped his glass tightly " Have a large memorial service, then try to survive day to day " Adama paused to take a sip of his drink "Before the others get here I wanted to let you know that you are the new CAG."

Lee looked at his father " Why me, surely there is someone else better qualified?"

Adama stood up and walked around the desk to face Lee " I am afraid you are the only choice, but I will assign Starbuck to help you since she knows the deck crew, pilots and the way this ship works."

Lee looked up at his father " Then why not put her in charge?"

Adama sighed " She knows nothing about all the paperwork it involves and she does not play well with others " he said smiling

Before anything else could be said there was a knock on the hatch.

* * *

President Roslin and Colonel Tigh entered. Adama moved to a chair by the sofa and offered everyone a seat. Once seated he began. " I have called this meeting to let you all know that the cylons look human now."

All three of them gasped and Colonel Tigh asked " How do you know that?"

Adama leaned back in the chair he had taken " I was locked in with one of them on Ragnar." and added before they could ask "He is now in the morgue"

Lee asked " Do you know how many there are?"

" No, but I am going to assume that some of them could be among us now, posing as humans " Adama told them as he sat forward

Roslin finally spoke " Until we know more I suggest we keep this between the four of us "

Lee and Colonel Tigh nodded in agreement and after a second Adama nodded his consent.

" I need to get to the CIC, I will let you know if I find out more" Adama said as he rose

After Tigh and Roslin left Adama looked at Lee, who had also gotten up " Could you have Starbuck report to the CIC, I need to speak with her?"

" You are going to tell her, aren't you?" Lee asked harshly

Adama had turned to leave, but turned back to face Lee " Yes, I am Lee, because what happened with the cylon involves her "

" Are you going to tell the rest of us about it? " Lee asked, already knowing that he would not

Adama looked at Lee sternly " Not right now, and until then, I do not want you to speak of it with anyone " Adama started to leave but paused "I also have a mission for her "

Lee crossed his arms " I assume you are going to let me in on the mission, I mean I am the CAG after all "

Adama closed his eyes and took a deep breath " I want to send her out to scout before we try to leave "

Lee unfolded his arms " Well, can't I just relay your orders?"

" You could, but like I said, I need to speak with her " Adama paused and then thought he should at least try to explain a little " Look Lee, Kara's life could be in danger and she has the right to know it " Adama then left Lee standing there as he headed to the CIC.

* * *

Lee stood there for a few minutes trying to take in all that he was just told. Not only had their world been destroyed, but now the cylons looked like humans and his dad had already had an encounter with one. Lee wondered what could possibly tie Starbuck to the cylons. He also knew by his fathers stern look not to mention it, but couldn't help but wonder why his dad would want to keep it from them. Now on top of all that he was now the CAG and would be working with Starbuck who was steadily becoming more of a mystery to him.

Lee decided he did not have anymore time for his varied thoughts and headed off to find the CAG'S office. As he was headed down the corridor he saw Starbuck coming towards him, so he stopped and waited on her.

Kara stopped as soon as she reached him " What are you doing Apollo?"

Lee tried for cordial " Looking for the CAG'S office and you "

Kara smirked " Well, you found me and the CAG'S office is down by the flight deck "

When he did not say anything Kara asked " Okay, so what did you want with me?"

" To let you know that I am the new CAG and you have a mission coming up " Lee waited on her to say something sarcastic

Kara laughed instead " Better you than me, personally I think being the CAG sucks "

Lee found himself smiling at that and started to walk off before he remembered " The Commander wants to see you in the CIC first "

" Wilco Apollo, do you need help finding your way?" she asked playfully

" No Starbuck, I think I can manage " he said as he walked off

Kara stayed where she was, watching him walk away until he turned around and saw her watching, then he smiled at her knowingly, so she just smirked and shrugged her shoulders, as if to say why shouldn't I look.

As Lee walked away he kept the smile on his face, thinking it was nice to have something to smile about after everything that had happened today.

* * *

Kara headed to the CIC to see what the old man wanted. She hoped it was not more bad news because quite frankly she had all she could handle today. The flight deck had been chaos and the chief was mad enough to spit bolts. Kara wished she had been on the Galactica when it was attacked, maybe she could have helped, on second thought if she had not been with Apollo she would have been with the squadron. It seems she was where she was supposed to be after all. Kara could see the CIC up ahead so she slowed her step until she spotted the commander. As soon as she entered he motioned her to the adjoining situation room.

Adama followed her in and told her to have a seat. He explained what happened on Ragnar and about the cylons looking like humans. " Kara you can't tell anyone about this, only Lee, Colonel Tigh and the President know about it. "

Kara nodded " Why tell me sir?"

Adama took a deep breath " What I am going to tell you now, no one other than myself knows it " after a pause he continued " The cylon model I was with goes by the name Leobon and right before I killed it he mentioned you, Kara "

Kara shuttered as a feeling of dread washed over her "What did it say?"

" Word for word he said 'Kara Thrace belongs with me and I will not stop until I have her' " Adama stood then " Kara, it died before I could ask him what it meant "

Kara stood also "But, if it is dead, then how?"

Adama walked to where she stood and put a hand on her shoulder " From what I could understand it was not worried about dying, so I think that means there are more models of him "

Kara looked at him then " Are you sure and what would he want with me? "

Adama removed his hand " I don't know Kara, I just thought you should know and I have a photo of him so we can at least keep an eye out "

Kara had been thinking this day could not get any worse, but she was wrong, she decided to change the subject " I hear I have a mission "

Adama sat back down and picked up a piece of paper " I need you to take your viper and scout ahead before we jump out of here "

Kara sat down and looked over at the paper he was holding " Where are we jumping to? '

Adama pointed at the paper " Beyond the Red Line "

Kara looked at him surprised. Adama only nodded, there was not anything to say.

Kara stood to leave " I guess I better get prepped "

Adama simply told her " Be careful out there Starbuck, just look and return "

They both left the room headed in different directions.

* * *

Kara left and headed back to the flight deck because she still had her flight suit on. She made it there without even remembering walking, she was so deep in thought about what Adama had just told her. As she was walking by a viper she tripped over a pair of legs and tumbled to the deck " Frak " she screamed.

Lee had been working on some of the vipers and was also deep in thought, so when someone tripped over his legs he scrambled out from under the viper to find Starbuck hunched over on the deck. He started to yell at her about fraking watching where she walked until he saw her face. Lee might not have known her long, but he knew a scared look when he saw it. Lee reached down to help her up " Are you okay?"

Kara could not believe she had been so lost in thought that she would trip over someone, and especially Apollo. She had thought he would yell or something, but instead he offered her a hand, which she took " It seems like this is becoming a habit, for you to help me up off the decks " she said in what she hoped sounded like a joke. " Yes, I'm fine, I just was lost in thought " that was when she looked down to realize she was still holding his hand. Wow, she thought this seems to have become a habit also, so she pulled her hand back " Sorry "

Lee could tell something had her spooked, " So, did you talk to the commander?"

Kara looked at him, he did not know about her and the cylon she thought " Yeah, he wanted to tell me about the mission "

Lee knew it was more than that, but he let it go " So, are you ready? " he asked as they walked to her viper

" Yeah " she said as she climbed in and started going over her checklist. She looked down and he was still there. " Something else you needed Apollo?"

"No.....Yeah, this is just recon so look and return, no heroics Starbuck " Lee told her, still worried that she was not as okay as she claimed.

She reached for her helmet that he was holding " I know, the old man already told me " she paused with the helmet still being held by both of them " You know if we make it out of this alive you can call me Kara "

Lee smirked at her then " And you can call me Lee, at least when we are not on duty "

" Gee thanks Apollo " she said as she fastened her helmet and slid the canopy shut.

* * *

As soon as she launched Lee headed to the CIC. That is when he found his father and Colonel Tigh arguing about whether they should leave the civilians behind. In Lee's opinion they had not saved everyone just to leave them. Before anything else could be said they started listening to Starbuck over the coms.

Kara knew the further she went the less likely she could remain in contact. She had been talking when she lost all communications, she headed further up anyway. As soon as she made her way to the top she stopped, and what she saw was three huge ships and hundreds of the cylon ships like the one she had gone up against. Kara stayed a second longer then started making her way back down. She did not want to blare all over the coms what she saw " Galactica, Starbuck making my way back now "

" Starbuck, Galactica Actual, what did you see" Adama asked wondering why she had not already said

Kara thought a minute about what to say " Actual, Starbuck, I will report to the CIC as soon as I land "

Adama knew Starbuck had her reasons " See you in the CIC, Actual out "

Even though Kara's intentions had been not to alarm everyone, she had done so just the same. " What do you think that is about " Tigh asked, clearly frustrated.

Adama turned to find Lee and Tigh looking at him " I'm sure she has her reasons, so we will just have to wait " Adama then headed to the situation room he had been in earlier with Starbuck "Come on, we will wait for her in here, and Gaeta send her in when she gets here "

Lee and Tigh had no choice but to follow him. As soon as they were inside Adama said " Our earlier conservation would be better if we finished it in here, besides I have a feeling that whatever Starbuck saw will impact this decision "

Kara landed and went straight to the CIC and then to the situation room. Upon entering the three people inside stopped talking.

Adama motioned for her to sit " Report Starbuck "

Kara sat down, gods she wished she had a drink " There are three very large ships and hundreds if not thousands of smaller cylon fighters up there, and they seem to be waiting on us to come to them "

Tigh spoke up " Which proves what I have been saying, we are going to have to leave the civilians here while we fight our way out "

Kara said what no one else did " Are you fraking crazy, we can not leave those people here "

Although Lee agreed with her he could not believe she had spoke to Tigh like that.

Tigh spoke back just as irate " How would you like another visit to the brig Starbuck?"

Adama barked out " Enough you two, Tigh we can't put her in the brig because we don't have enough fighters as it is, besides I agree with her "

" You would " Tigh said back

Lee did not have a clue what was going on between them, but he agreed with Starbuck and his dad " So, since we are not leaving them we need to come up with a plan "

Adama thought a minute " Starbuck, is there enough room for us to get between them and the civilian ships, giving them enough time to jump while we hold them off?"

" Just " Kara answered, then added " We will have to put all of our vipers out there fighting too "

Adama stood up " Then it's settled, Tigh tell Gaeta to inform all the civilan ships of our plan and Lee get all the pilots informed and ready, we do this in the next hour, dismissed everyone "

As they started leaving Kara stopped Adama " Do you think you have time to show me what you have in your office?"

Adama looked at her a minute not understanding, then it dawned on him, the photo " Yes, we can go by there before you head to the flight deck"

Adama saw Lee still standing there " Apollo head on down there, Starbuck will meet you there "

Lee wanted to know what was going on, but he nodded and went on his way, determined to find out later.

* * *

Kara did not know if she would live thru this next battle and she needed to see what the cylon looked like. She followed Adama to his quarters well aware that Apollo wanted to know what was going on. They entered and Adama pulled a folder out of his desk drawer and gave it to Kara. As Kara looked at the picture she shivered looking at the cylon.

While Kara was looking at the photo, Adama looked down at a piece of paper that had not been on his desk earlier. He picked it up to read it 'There are twelve cylon models ' and then it was Adama's turn to shiver.

* * *

( Leave a comment )


	8. Chapter 8

A Different Beginning----Chapter 8

AU and it starts with the mini-series. Also I am writing this solo and I am sorry for any mistakes.

Chapter-----8

Kara stood there looking at the photo of the cylon who had said he would have her. She did not know why it wanted her, because as far as she knew the cylons should not even know who she was.

As Kara was distracted looking at the picture, Adama folded the piece of paper he had been looking at and put it in his jacket pocket. He knew that for the time being he would have to keep this information to himself. He wondered who had been in his office in the short time he had been away.

Kara placed the photo back in the folder and handed it to Adama " Sir, can we keep this between us for now?"

Adama did not see any reason that anyone had to know " For now Kara, but if something happens in the future we will have to re-visit this"

" Thank you sir , I need to go and get ready " Kara turned to leave

" Starbuck " Adama called out " Good hunting "

Kara gave a nod and took off.

Adama made sure to put the folder up and then headed to the CIC.

* * *

Lee had just finished his first briefing as the new CAG. It had gone as well as could be expected considering they did not have a full squadron. There seemed to be as many raptor pilots as there were viper jocks and by the time this little skirmish was over there would be even fewer viper pilots. Lee could tell that no one was in good spirits, it had been a hard day already.

As the last of the pilots left the briefing room Lee took the time to look around. When he had been here this morning there was a full roster on the board, now they would all have to go out there and fight. Lee was no fool, he had placed Starbuck on his wing, considering he already knew what she was capable of.

He wondered if she was still with his father or on the deck so he headed to the deck. She should have been at the briefing, but she already knew as much as he did. Whatever she needed to see the commander about must have been important, otherwise his father would not have taken the time. Lee knew it must have something to do with the cylon his father had killed.

When he made it to the flight deck she was already going over her viper, so whatever it was, she seemed to have got her answer. Lee walked over to her " You ready for this Starbuck?"

Kara looked over her shoulder at him " As ready as I am ever going to be, I suppose " she turned " What about you Apollo?"

" The same, I put you on the roster as my wing man " Lee told her

" Good to know " she remarked " How are the other pilots?"

" Okay I guess, I don't know any of them so it's kinda hard to tell " Lee told her honestly

Kara looked around her at the other pilots getting ready " They will be okay, it's not like any of us have ever done this before "

Lee offered Kara his hand and she shook it " Good luck out there Starbuck "

" Good hunting Apollo " she replied

Then they both got ready for the battle that was to come.

* * *

As the Galactica made it's move to go up through Ragnar all of the vipers were lined up for take off. As soon as they made it to the top they got the signal and started shooting out of the tubes and within a matter of moments they were engaged by the cylon fighters. The battle was fast and hard and while they were taking out the cylons the Galactica was firing on the larger ships. One by one the civilians started slipping by and jumping to the pre-arranged coordinates.

Adama stood in the CIC as the battle waged on, he hoped this plan worked and they lived through this day. He also kept an eye on the vipers hoping they all came back safely, especially Starbuck and Apollo. He knew that Gaeta was keeping an eye on the civilian ships and would let him know when they had all jumped.

Kara could not believe the amount of cylon ships that they were having to fight off. Every time she shot one down there was another to take its place. She watched as fellow pilots were shot down and then she saw a missile heading straight for Apollo, and she knew his viper was already damaged. Before she could think about what she was doing she flew between his viper and the missile. Luckily she got off a perfect shot and turned to fly back towards him to access the damage. " Looks like you broke your viper Apollo "

" It could have been worse, thanks " Lee thought he was dead for sure when he saw that missile coming towards him. Then out of no where Starbuck swept in and took it out. He knew there was no way he would be able to get back to Galactica, but even though he could not maneuver he still took out what flew into his path. Lee heard the recall of all vipers and knew he would not be going back.

He also soon realized that Starbuck had no intention of listening to the recall. She kept flying around him taking out the cylons he could not get. "Starbuck, head back now "

Kara knew there was no way she was leaving Apollo out here to die " Forget it Apollo " she said while still shooting cylons.

" That is an order Starbuck, get your ass back to the Galactica " Lee yelled at her. About that time he heard his father over the com " What do you hear Starbuck?"

At first Kara did not hear him and then she knew what he wanted " Nothing but the rain sir " she said as blown up cylon parts rained down on her canopy.

Lee heard his dad again " Then grab your gun and bring in the cat " What the hell did he mean by that, Lee thought.

" Wilco Commander, you may want to clear a path " Kara replied as she turned her viper towards Apollo at a great rate of speed. She knew what she had planned, she just hoped the frak it worked " Hold on Apollo, I am coming in"

Lee looked up to see her heading straight for him and knew she had something crazy planned. And then she rammed her viper into his, connecting their wings pushing him back to the Galactica with her.

" You are beyond insane Starbuck " he yelled when he realized her intent. He turned to look behind him and saw the outer pods to the flight deck closing " We are going in a little hot, don't you think " he screamed

" Maybe " was all she said and the next thing he knew they were sliding into the Galactica's bay. After screeching all the way down the flight deck they came to a crushing stop against the outer doors that had been closed.

As soon as he caught his breath he jumped out of his viper and headed towards hers. She was still trapped because the canopy had jammed shut with the impact " Starbuck, are you all right, can you hear me? " Lee was frantic

Finally she started moving around and looked up at him with a shit eating grin " Wow, that was a rush "

Lee smiled and felt relief that she was able to joke. He slid the canopy back after a lot of tugging and reached in to pull her out. " You are crazy, you know that, right?"

Kara grabbed his hand and thought again how he always seemed to be pulling her up. As soon as she got out she pulled her hand away to release her helmet " Thanks "

" I think I am supposed to be thanking you " Lee told her and started to say something else, but then he saw his father rushing towards them.

Since they were standing together Adama grabbed them both and hugged them " Thank you Starbuck "

" Just following your orders sir " she mumbled into his shoulder

Adama still had not let them go " You can let go now dad " Lee told him

At this point the chief had walked over " Not that I am not glad to see you both alive, but Starbuck do you think you can stop destroying the vipers, it's not like we have a lot of them left "

Kara smirked " I am pretty sure you can salvage at least one of them chief "

* * *

Adama had ordered Lee and Kara to sickbay to be checked out, before he went back to CIC to check out the damage. There was not time to rest so he ordered all pilots and the deck crew to have the vipers and raptors ready to go out again if necessary. Adama really hoped that was all they had to do for the rest of this day, but he knew they had to be prepared for anything. He thought back to the note and wondered how many cylons were walking around the fleet. There had to be some way to tell them apart.

As soon as things were back in order in the CIC Adama had Gaeta call President Roslin to set up a meeting. He left Tigh in charge while he went to his cabin to wait on Roslin.

* * *

Kara and Lee were walking side by side to the sickbay. Lee felt he should say something about what had happened out there. " You know you disobeyed my order to return to the Galactica "

Kara who had been silent thanking the gods that they had survived was surprised when she heard Apollo speak. " And your point would be what?" she asked

" That as your superior I gave you an order that you ignored " Lee told her as they kept walking

Kara grabbed his arm to pull him to a stop " Well, my Commander gave me a different order, and under the circumstances I would think that you would be grateful"

Lee looked at her "Was that what that whole grab your gun and bring in the cat meant?"

" Yeah Lee that is what it meant " Kara said a bit snarky

" Thanks Kara, but you could have got us both killed " Lee decided if she was going to call him by his name that he would use hers because at the rate things were going they would never be off duty.

" No way " she said with a smirk " I knew what I was doing " she let go of his arm and started to walk on

This time Lee grabbed her arm and stopped her " Really, and how many times have you pulled that type of maneuver?"

Kara thought a minute "Twice, if you want to count me getting your ass back onto Colonial One "

" That was different and you know it " Lee told her while realizing he still had his hand on her arm.

" Slow, fast, what does it matter Lee, your still alive, are you not? " Kara said as she pulled her arm away from him, damn he was making her mad.

Lee knew he had better let this go before it escalated any further " You're right, let's just get to sickbay "

Thank the gods Kara thought as they started towards sickbay. She would never admit to him how scared she really was about pulling that kind of move. At least he had called her Kara, she supposed that was a step in the right direction.

Lee had to admit that she was the best pilot he had ever seen. He knew no one else, him included could have pulled that off, her natural ability in a viper was uncanny. Lee hoped in the future that she would obey his orders, maybe he should speak to his dad because she seemed to follow his orders no matter what. He glanced at her and thought that he was glad she was on their side, cause Lee had a feeling that the cylons were not going to be letting up any time soon.

* * *

Adama heard a knock on his hatch and got up to answer it. " Come in " Adama said as he stepped to the side to let the president enter. Once she was in he offered her a seat on the sofa.

Laura Roslin was still trying to get used to being the president, so she was at a loss at how to start this conservation. After a brief thought she spoke " I wanted to thank you for taking us with you, I understand that it was not an easy decision "

Adama coughed clearing his throat " Well, we are all that is left, I could not just leave everyone " he stood up and walked over to his desk to get the photo of Leobon " I needed to address this problem we have with the human looking cylons "

As he sat back down he passed her the photo " This is a picture of the one I killed on Ragnar "

After looking at it closely Roslin laid it on the table by them "So what do you suggest we do?"

" We need to find out if there is a way to tell them apart from us, and I was hoping you might have some ideas" he told her

Roslin reached up and rubbed her forehead in thought " We did pick up a scientist on board the Colonial One, a Gaius Baltar I believe, maybe he would know of something "

Adama took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes before responding, damn he was tired " That would mean telling another person what we know"

" It seems we do not have a choice " she replied

" All right " Adama said " Why don't I let you handle that "

Roslin stood up " I will see to it as soon as I get back to my ship "

" Thank you Madame President " Adama said as he escorted her to the hatch

* * *

While Kara and Lee were sitting in chairs in the waiting room to see Doc Cottle she asked him " Are you planning on bunking in your office? "

Lee who had fallen into a light sleep jumped when she spoke, causing her to laugh " I really don't know, I have not given it any thought "

Kara who had stopped laughing at startling him said " Either way, there is a small room in there with a bed or there are plenty of empty bunks in the senior pilots room "

Lee thought about it then " A private bunk sounds good, I just hope I get the chance to use it soon "

Kara who had begun looking around for a nurse replied without thinking " You and me both " and realizing the way that sounded she corrected herself " I just meant that I could use some sleep myself "

Lee saw her blush slightly " I knew what you meant " and to change the subject he asked " Did my dad let you know that he was assigning you to help me with the pilots roster and other things?"

Kara who was getting tired of sitting, stood up " No, I guess it slipped his mind, but hey whatever " then she walked over and cornered a nurse "Hey, how the frak long do we have to wait to be seen?"

The nurse who was used to her by now apparently, Lee noticed, said "I don't have any idea, but feel free to leave if you want " then the nurse walked off leaving an irate Starbuck.

Kara walked back over to Lee who had been smiling because of the exchange " What the frak are you smiling about?" and without waiting for him to answer she continued " I am out of here, you can stay if you want to "

Lee watched Kara walk away, damn he was tired of waiting also, so he got up and left heading to his office hoping to catch at least a nap. When he reached his office he took off his flight suit and fell into bed.

Meanwhile Kara was entering the officer's bunk room and she noticed several curtains already pulled close. She really needed a shower, instead she pulled off her flight suit, promising herself a shower when she woke up, and climbed into her bunk. Kara fell asleep thinking about the events of the last fifteen or so hours.

* * *

Lee woke up and realized he had slept for five hours and got up. He grabbed the bag with the few things he had brought with him from the Atlantia and headed to the showers. After he had showered and dressed he knew he needed to find Starbuck to help him with the pilot roster. Lee then went to the bunk room and found several curtains closed, he did not have any idea which one was hers and knew he could not start opening curtains. He turned to leave and ran into a pilot outside of the hatchway to the bunk room. " Hey, do you know which bunk is Starbuck's?"

Duck who recognized Apollo as their new CAG answered " Yeah, but she is not in it, she is down in the hangar bay working on her viper "

" Thanks " Lee knew he had better start getting to know the pilots so he stuck out his hand " I am Apollo, and you are who?"

Duck reached out and shook his hand " I'm Duck "

" Have you had any sleep Duck?" Apollo asked

" Just got off CAP, that's where I'm headed now" he then walked into the bunk room in search of some much needed sleep.

As Lee walked to the hangar deck he wondered if Kara had gotten any sleep, she did not seem like someone that stayed still for very long. When he reached the deck the chief cornered him " Captain, we are going to need the pilots help on some of the maintenance of these planes, as you know we lost people in the attack"

Another problem Lee thought " " I will send any available ones I can round up Chief " he turned to look around at the mess on the deck " Do you know where I can find Starbuck?"

" She is working on her viper, over there " the Chief pointed in her direction before heading off to take care of another disaster.

Lee could hear her banging and cussing as he drew closer to her viper. He saw that her canopy had already been replaced. When he reached her viper he knelt down and looked under it at her " Having problems Starbuck?"

Kara was not in the mood for chit chat so she answered sharply" No, everything is just peachy "

" Wow " Lee said " Did you get any sleep?"

Kara stopped what she was doing and looked at him " Is there something I can help you with Apollo?"

Lee stared back " Yeah, when you get time I need some help with the roster "

Kara sighed, of course he did " I will be finished in about an hour "

Lee stood up " Then I'll let you get back to it and I will see you in my office when you finish "

As Lee walked away Kara stuck her tongue out at him and went back to work.

* * *

It took Kara a little longer than an hour, plus she took the time to change out of her orange coveralls and shower before putting on pants and a tank. She also left her hair down, so it could dry. She was now headed to do paperwork it seemed. Kara knocked once on the hatch to the CAG'S office then let herself in.

Lee kept looking at his watch, he thought for a minute he was going to have to pull Starbuck away from her viper. He had just got up when he heard a knock and before he could say enter she strolled in. She caught him off guard and all he could do was stand there staring at her. He knew she was nice to look at, but for the first time he saw how beautiful she really was. Lee did not remember her hair looking like that or her for that matter. It was the first time he had seen her out of a flight suit or coveralls.

Kara stood there with her hand still on the hatch wondering what the frak Apollo was looking at her like that for. When he kept staring she cleared her throat " Something wrong Apollo?"

Lee shook his head and put his eyes back in their sockets " Um... no, it's just you look different " then he sat back down

Oh, so that was it Kara thought as she looked down at herself, he thought I was just another one of the guys, she could not help but tease him "What, you did not notice that I was a woman before now?"

Lee blushed two shades of pink " No....I mean yeah I knew, I just didn't really think about it too much until now " he knew he was stumbling for words

Kara decided to let him off the hook " That's alright, it's not like you had time, now what do you need help with exactly?"

Whew, Lee finally had his breath back " I need to know which pilots to put together for CAP, you know which ones work better together "

Kara took the seat across from him and reached for the list and started reading over it.

As she looked it over Lee took the time to look her over again. Her hair was a little past her shoulders and blond, her eyes were a shade of green Lee had not seen before. The paper was keeping him from seeing her breasts, not that he had not noticed them in her flight suit. He looked back up to her face and watched her full lush lips as she mumbled over the names.

It had not taken Kara long before she already knew where to put who where, but she noticed that Lee was looking her over so she pretended to keep looking it over. She wondered what he was thinking about while he was looking at her. Kara had given him enough time so she decided to speak up and put an end to his perusal of her. "I think " she saw him jerk and had to fight the urge to bust out laughing " we should put Duck, Ripper and Keeper on the next CAP "

Lee was so lost in his thoughts of her that he jerked when she spoke, he hoped she had not noticed. " Why them?" he decided to try and get back to business.

Kara spoke slowly " Because they are off shift right now and you have Racetrack, Topper and Slider on CAP now "

Lee took the list back from her and looked it over " Okay, so I guess that means Boomer, you and me will have the one after that "

Kara nodded " So that leaves Flat Top, Pike and Crashdown left over from raptors to fill in when we switch it around "

Lee nodded his assent " What about the rest of the bunch?"

Kara took the list back and went over it again " They are really just rooks, so you can place them with any of the senior pilots if you choose or put them on maintenance "

That's right, Lee remembered the Chief needing help " We will put them with the Chief, he brought up the fact that he needed help in the hangar bay "

Kara nodded and they went to work making out the weeks schedule. Just when they finished the sirens went off " Action Stations, Action Stations all pilots report to the flight deck "

Lee grabbed his flight suit and they took off for the flight deck running side by side. Kara started pulling her hair up into a ponytail as they ran.

* * *

Starbuck and Apollo were suited up and in their vipers ready to head into battle. Little did they know that they would be going out every thirty-three minutes for the next fourteen hours. There seemed to be no way of getting away from the cylons. Every time the pilots landed they only had time for a ten minute break before they had to get ready to go out again. It was a soul wearing fight, the only thing they had going for them was the hope that the next jump would be their last. Starbuck and Apollo's flying skills were tested to the limits each time they engaged the cylons.

The deck crew was not faring much better, they too were on their last leg. It seemed to be all they could do just to keep the vipers fueled and held together with whatever they could find.

Up in the CIC they were working frantically to figure out how the cylons kept finding them. The best they could do was to keep jumping and hope they caught a break soon. Adama was worried about how the pilots and deck crew were holding up. He had spoken to President Roslin several times and even though the civilians were holding up it seemed all the jumps were taking a toll on them.

Kara and Lee tended to take their breaks together. Lee found out you can learn a lot about a person when they were under pressure. Kara seemed to be doing better than most at holding up. There had been one small episode when he had to order her to take the stems that Doc Cottle had ordered all pilots to take. She did not want to take them and had put up a fight, claiming that they would only bunch her reflexes. She had finally gave in and took them.

Kara had to give kudos to Apollo, he was able to keep the pilots motivated enough to keep going out jump after jump. She also saw that he was holding up great. Not only did he have to be the CAG, but he also had to fight right along with everyone else. He more than pulled his weight, she was impressed. They had even held each other up on occasion by propping themselves up against each other as they sat or stood during their breaks. She also noticed that he had been calling her Kara more often.

Finally around jump two hundred and forty they caught a break. The clock had finally moved past the dreaded thirty-three minute mark. Kara looked around and you could literally hear everyone breathe a sigh of relief.

* * *

Kara should have known it was to good to be true. During the following Cap with Apollo, Boomer and herself a colonial ship showed up and they got the order to destroy it. Kara did not want to fire even though it had been an order from Commander Adama. When she saw that Apollo had every intention of carrying out the order she fired a split second after he did.

Lee had not wanted to fire, but he had been given an order so he carried it out. He noticed that even though Starbuck had not wanted to fire she fired when he did. When it was over they landed and looked at each other a few seconds before going different ways.

Kara felt as guilty as Lee, but it seemed to be eating at him more than her. The good news was that after they blew up the Olympic Carrier and jumped there was no sign of the cylons. She looked around and saw that except for a skeleton crew everyone else had hit their racks, which is where she was headed.

After blowing up the civilian ship Lee knew he needed to be alone somewhere. He knew that all of the pilots not on duty would be in their racks so he headed to the pilots briefing room. Thankfully they had only lost five pilots during the whole course of the battle. Lee was trying to rework the flight board around the lost pilots to take his mind off of the Olympic Carrier. Lee felt someone enter the room and looked over to find his dad standing there.

Adama approached Lee and stood next to him " I made the order son, you were only following it."

Lee turned his head towards his father " And I pulled the trigger, that's something I am going to have to live with."

Adama simply nodded his head " If we had not done that we would still be trying to get away from the cylons."

"So, we did what had to be done " Lee stated and turned back to the flight board, still not feeling better about it.

Adama stood a moment longer watching Lee then he turned and left the room.

Adama hoped that things would return to normal, or at least as normal as they were ever going to be.

* * *

( Leave a comment )


	9. Chapter 9

A Different Beginning----Chapter 9

AU and it starts with the min-series. I am writing this solo and I am sorry for any mistakes.

Chapter---9

Lee woke up after sleeping for twelve straight hours. He finally felt a little like his old self until he remembered the Olympic Carrier. Thinking of that reminded Lee that he had not seen Kara since they landed yesterday. He wondered how she was doing with the whole thing. He got up to shower and find something to eat then he would try to run her down. He was grateful that he had not had to destroy the ship by himself and she had followed his orders.

Kara was now in the mess hall after sleeping a full thirteen hours, she had forgot about eating yesterday with all that happened. As a matter of fact, she could not remember the last time she had ate except for a few crackers gobbled down in between fights with the cylons. As she was eating her thoughts returned to the Olympic Carrier, she now knew that they had done the only thing they could. She hoped Lee had came to the same conclusion, and then she turned to see if he was in the mess hall. After she made a quick scan of the room and did not him she returned to eating.

As Lee was walking to the mess hall he hoped that they would not encounter any cylons today. As he entered the mess he stopped and looked around for Kara, and saw her empty her tray and then head his way. Lee stayed where he was so that she would have to pass him to leave.

Just as Kara put away her tray she turned to see Lee standing in the hatch way. As she walked towards him she could tell that he had at least got some sleep, but the guilt was still written all over his face. She stopped in front of him " How are you doing Apollo?"

Lee studied her face a minute " As well as can be expected, considering the circumstances." he shrugged

Kara reached out and touched his arm causing him to look at her in the eyes " You know if we had not gone through with it we would still be trying to get away from the cylons and could have lost many more pilots."

Lee reached his hand out to cover hers " How can you forget about it so easily?"

Kara pulled her hand away angry that he would accuse her of forgetting what they had done " Who said I forgot about it, besides it's not like we can change it, and we will probably have more things go wrong today and hind-sight is not a luxury we can afford."

Before she could storm off Lee reached out and touched her on the shoulder " You are right, I'm sorry, and now I need to eat before we get hit with anymore problems "

Right before he moved his hand, alarms started blaring and the ship jerked knocking Kara into Lee, he caught her before either one of them fell. While Kara was still in his arms she looked at him " What the frak do you think that is about?"

Lee looked at her and grabbed her by the hand " Let's go to the CIC and see what is happening."

As they were headed to the CIC at a fast walk she pulled her hand back " Lee, I know the way to the CIC." she had said it as a joke, so he smiled and let go.

As they entered the CIC side by side Adama looked at them and motioned them over, he was standing with President Roslin. As they both walked over they stopped and stood at attention, in deference to their Commander and President Roslin.

" At ease Captain and Lt. " Adama told them

" What happened?" Lee asked as he stood at ease along with Kara.

" Something or someone has just blown up two of our water tanks.." Adama told them

" What can we do?" Kara asked

" I already have Sergeant Hadrian on her way to question everyone that had access to the B causeway, so I need you two down there making sure that everybody complies " Adama told them as he dismissed them.

* * *

As Kara and Lee were walking to the hangar deck he looked over and saw her deep in thought " What are you thinking about?"

Kara did not want to tell Lee what she was really thinking about so she deflected by saying " I was thinking that you did not get a chance to eat " she reached into her pocket and pulled out an energy bar and handed it to him.

Lee tore it open and ate it, after he finished chewing he looked at her " Thanks, I needed that "

" Sure " Was all Kara said as they had approached the hangar deck and saw Sergeant Hadrian already speaking to Chief Tyrol

Kara and Lee walked over to them and stopped " Sergeant Hadrian I assume " and at her nod he continued " I am Captain Adama and this is Lt. Thrace, we were told by Commander Adama to assist you "

" Here " Hadrian handed him a list " I need all of the people on the list to meet me in conference room A as soon as you can arrange it " and then she walked away

Kara grabbed the list from Lee to look it over and sure enough there was Boomer and the Chief on it, along with other deck crew members. As she read further she saw her name and several other pilots listed also " What the frak is my name doing on this?"

Lee took the list back ignoring Kara's question for the moment " Chief your name is on this, how much longer till you are off shift?"

The chief chanced a look in Kara's direction " About an hour, sir "

Lee could not help but notice the look that passed between them " Then as soon as you are done report to Hadrian and make sure the rest of your crew do also "

The chief nodded and went back to work, then Lee turned to face Kara " I need to speak to you in my office now "

Kara looked at him wondering what he wanted, but nodded and started to the office with him.

* * *

As soon as they were seated across the desk from each other Lee looked at her " What are you not telling me, Kara?"

Kara decided if she used his name and not his rank that this conservation might go better " Look Lee, it is not that big of a deal "

" Why don't you let me be the judge of that " Lee said

" Fine, The Chief and Boomer have been meeting in that causeway since before the war " Kara stated flatly

Lee just looked at her confused " Not that big of a deal, they were and are breaking frat regs " he had raised his voice slightly

" They love each other Lee, so they decided to meet someplace out of the way of normal traffic " she said also raising her voice

" How many others are breaking regs Kara, and are you one of them?" Lee asked rather loudly

Kara stood up, she was getting furious " No one else that I know of, and for your information I haven't fraked around with anyone on this ship "

Lee thought to himself good to know, he found he was happy that she had not fooled around with anyone on the Galactica " So what are you going to tell Hadrian when she calls you in?"

Kara sat back down " Nothing "

" You can't do that, you have to tell her " Lee told her, confused as to why she would lie

" Watch me " Kara said as she stood up again, then leaned over the desk getting in his face " What about you Apollo, how many times did you break regs on the Atlantia?"

Lee stared back at her " I never did, Kara " Lee leaned back in his chair, he had to put some distance between them before he reached across his desk and grabbed her to kiss her.

" Good to know " she said as she stood up to leave " I have to get to work

Lee stood up then " What are you doing for lunch?"

Kara looked at him trying to figure out what he was up to. " Eating "

Lee knew he should not ask this, but he did anyway " How about we eat together, say around one o'clock?"

Kara nodded her assent and went out the hatch.

* * *

After she left, Lee sat back down at his desk. He knew he would not say anything to Hadrian unless asked directly, besides he had only been here a few days and he barely knew anyone. That made him start thinking about the frat regs, he decided he would speak to the president about it. Surely with it being the end of the worlds the frat regs could be relaxed. Lee knew he was thinking about them for his own personal reasons, because he had every intention of getting to know Kara better.

When Kara left Lee's office she was sure that he would not say anything. What was that all about she thought, him asking her to meet him for lunch. She knew that she would, because back in his office when she got in his face all she wanted to do was kiss him. She had not been lying when she said she had not hooked up with anybody on the Galactica. That however did not mean that she had not hooked up with men on shore leave. She suspected that he had also, because she found it hard to believe that a man who looked the way he did, that women weren't falling at his feet. She decided then and there to stake her claim on Lee Adama before the rest of the women on this lonely boat started taking notice.

* * *

Adama had sat in on all the interviews that Sergeant Hadrian had conducted. He was not surprised that everyone claimed to not know anything. What did surprise him was the conflicting answers as to where Chief Tyrol had been. Adama waited to hear what the chief would say and when he refused to answer under the Articles, Adama knew he had to find out what was going on with the chief. When Kara came in and refused out right to answer any questions he knew without a doubt that his crew was covering up something, but he did not think it had anything to do with the planted bombs in the water tanks.

Sergeant Hadrian had gotten to point where she was starting to harass the crew and when she called him to the stand he called the whole investigation off. She had not been happy about that, but she stopped the interviews.

Adama had a plan though, Kara had been eating dinner with him once a week before the attacks happened. This time he would invite Lee to join them and see if he could find some answers. So he went in search of Lee and found out that he had gone to Colonial One, he wondered what that was about. Next he went in search of Kara and found out that she was in the shower. Maybe he could run them down after lunch.

* * *

Kara had finished her shower and was getting dressed to go to lunch with Lee, when Duck told her the Commander came by looking for her. She knew it had something to do with what happened during her interrogation by Hadrian. Well, she would wait until after lunch, because that was not a conservation she was looking forward to. She looked at her watch and realized she had only ten minutes to make it to the mess hall. She finished brushing her hair and left it down, Lee seemed to like it that way the last time.

Lee's meeting with the president went as well as could be expected. She had actually said she agreed with him in some ways and would think about it. He was half-way out the door when she said " You know I will have to talk this over with Commander Adama "

Frak Lee thought, his father would never agree to this. He would have to talk with Kara about it at lunch, she seemed to be able to talk with his dad more easily than he could. Lee looked at his watch and realized he was going to be a few minutes late, he hoped she would wait.

Once back on the Galactica he headed straight to the mess hall, but was interrupted when the comms officer Dee stopped him and told him that his dad had been looking for him. " Thank you for the message, but I have plans right now, so tell him I will find him afterwards."

When Lee finally made it to the mess hall he quickly spotted Kara sitting at a table. She still had not picked out her lunch so he walked over and sat down " Sorry I am late, but I had a meeting with Roslin and someone stopped me to tell me dad was looking for me "

Kara had been pissed off at him until he explained " Yeah, I was told he was looking for me too."

" I wonder what he wants with us?" Lee asked as he tapped the table top.

Kara reached out to stop his tapping " I don't know about you, but he probably wants to talk to me about my answer during the investigation with Hadrian."

" Why, what did you say?" he asked

Kara grinned at him " I said no comment, and that was all "

Lee grinned back " He probably thinks that since I am the CAG that I know something "

Kara got worried and started tapping her foot " You are not going to say anything, are you?"

Lee reached under the table and put his hand on her leg to stop her tapping, she jumped back not expecting it " Sorry, just returning the favor and to answer your question I won't say anything unless he brings the chief up first "

Great Kara thought, because she knew Adama would bring him up " What did you have to see Roslin about?"

Lee stood up " Let's get something to eat first, I am starving and then I will tell you about it "

After they got their plates and sat back down to eat Kara waited and after a few bites she said " Well, start talking "

Lee put his fork down " After the talk we had in the office about frat regs I decided to go see Roslin about them "

Kara took another bite before asking " What did she say?"

Lee looked her in the eyes " She agreed that things needed to change if we were going to have any hope at being normal "

Kara was looking at him also " Why don't you seem happier about it then?"

Lee picked his fork back up " She said she would have to talk to the commander about it "

Kara took another bite before saying " There goes that then, because your dad is never going to agree to that "

Lee looked at her closely " Well, that is where you come in, I'm hoping you can get him to think about it "

Kara put her fork down and pushed her plate away " What makes you think he will listen to me?"

After Lee took one last bite he pushed his plate away " Maybe, because you two seem so close "

Kara placed her hand on the table and started playing with the edge of her plate " We may be close, but he will never listen to me about this "

Lee reached out and grabbed her hand, an electric shock jumped between them but neither let loose " Could you try?"

Kara laughed at him then " Yes, for you Lee I will try " and then she had a thought " Why are you so interested all of a sudden, have you found someone you want to break the regs for?"

Lee did not know how to answer that " Not right now, but maybe in the future " then he winked at her

Did he just wink at me Kara thought, and then she noticed that their hands where still linked together, and is he talking about us? " I will talk to him the next time we are both off "

Lee finally realizing that he was still holding her hand in a public place pulled his back " Maybe you could talk to him sooner than that, he was looking for you remember."

Kara put her hands in her lap " He was looking for you too "

While they were still sitting there Adama walked in " Finally, I found the both of you "

" Would you like to sit, sir?" Kara asked

" No, I have to get back to the CIC, I just wanted to ask you both to dinner tonight?" Adama waited on a response

Lee spoke first " We will be there, what time?"

Kara just looked at Lee as Adama answered " Around seven o'clock " and without another word Adama left.

" Why did you do that " Kara asked

" Because he asked and it will be the perfect opportunity to bring up the frat regs " he answered

" This could turn out to be one fraked up dinner, you know that right?" Kara asked him

Lee knew they both needed to get to work so he stood up " Maybe, maybe not, who knows it could all work out "

" Yeah, right " Kara said as she stood up " I guess I will see you tonight then, but right now I need to get back to work "

As they walked out together Lee told her " Thanks for agreeing to have lunch with me "

Kara smirked " Everybody has to eat " Lee smiled at that and they went their separate ways.

* * *

As Kara was walking to the flight deck she understood why Adama wanted to see her, but why invite her and Lee together. Truthfully she liked having dinner with the old man once a week. She knew that Lee probably had no idea that they had been having dinner together. She wondered what Adama wanted to see Lee about. She had three more hours of maintenance work to do before her shift would be up. Until then she needed to quit worrying about it and get to work.

As Lee was headed back to his office he had to wonder what his father was up to. He also had to find a way to bring up the frat regs, maybe talking about the chief would lead to that conservation. Lee planned on keeping an eye on his father and Kara, because he was still trying to figure out their relationship. Kara had not seemed to be surprised about the dinner invitation, perhaps they had had them before.

Kara ran into the Chief on the deck " So how did your interrogation go?"

" Not very well " was all the chief had to say on the matter

Kara looked at him " Who do you think sabotaged the water tanks?" she asked

" I don't have a clue, except they are trying to pin it on Boomer and me " Chief Tyrol answered her

" Don't worry about it chief, I'm sure it will pass " Kara said as she walked away

* * *

Adama was in his office waiting on Lee and Kara to show up. He hoped that between the both of them he could learn what was going on with the chief. He also wanted to know why Lee had gone to see Roslin. Then there was Kara, he knew that she would know what was going on with the chief.

While he waited he poured himself a drink. Even though this was supposed to be a family dinner he knew that it would also be formal one. Just as he started to pour another drink there was a knock on his hatch. This time Lee and Kara entered together, and Adama had them all sit at the dining table.

As they waited for their food to arrive Adama asked the first question " Kara, why did you decline answering any of Sergeant Hadrian's questions?"

" I had nothing to say " she told him " Can I have a drink?"

" Sure " Adama got up and brought a glass for each of them and poured them a drink. " Kara I know that you know more than what you are saying"

Kara took a sip of her drink " If I tell you what I know, I want you to promise to handle this discreetly "

Adama nodded " I will do the best that I can "

Kara cleared her throat before speaking " The Chief and Boomer have been meeting in causeway B since before the war started "

Adama spoke loudly " You knew they were breaking frat regs and you did not tell me? "

" I did not think it was any of my business and it never affected their jobs " Kara stated rather heated

" Breaking frat regs is a serious offense " Adama reminded her

" I know that sir, but they love each other " Kara answered repeating what she had told Lee earlier

Adama decided to let that statement go for now " Do you think they had anything to do with the bombs that were set off?"

Kara thought about it for a minute " No sir, I do not "

Adama turned to face Lee " Did you know about this?"

" Not until today " Lee told him

Before they could speak again there was a knock on the hatch and their dinner was brought in.

As they ate Lee tried to think up a way to bring up the frat regs, but before he could say anything his father asked him " Why did you go to the Colonial One today?"

Lee knew it was time " I went to talk with the president about rethinking the whole frat regs law."

Adama looked at his son wondering what he was up to " Why would you do that, it is a military decision?"

Lee placed his fork down and stared at his dad " In case you forgot our worlds have ended and this is all we have left, and people need comfort, especially now "

Adama stared at son as if he could read his mind " And you think that the people on Galactica really need to get involved with each other?"

" Yes I do, its not like we have the time to go off ship, so I feel that if any two people want to be together then they should have the right to do so" Lee answered him bluntly

Adama could only nod because Lee had made a valid point " What did the president have to say about it?"

" She seemed to think it was a good idea, but said that she would have to speak with you first " Lee told him

Adama turned back to Kara " What do you think about all this?"

" I agree with Lee and it would certainly boost morale, not to mention the fact that we take a chance of dying each and every time we go out there to fight, and this could give the people of Galactica a reason to keep fighting every day " Kara told him as straight forward as she could

Adama looked at each of them " This sounds like you have both given it a lot of thought "

They both nodded and then preceded to finish their dinner.

* * *

As they left the commander's office, Lee said " That went better than I thought it would."

Kara was not so sure " He will still have to punish the chief and probably a few others "

Lee knew that what she said was true " I know, but if he does change the frat regs then the Chief and Boomer could be together without having to sneak around "

" True " Kara said " It is beginning to look like we will never find out who was behind blowing up the water tanks though "

" Yeah, my thoughts exactly, now we will have to search for a water source " Lee said as they continued walking

Kara stopped outside her bunk room " I'm going to hit my rack, we have CAP in a few hours "

" Right " Lee said " Thanks for backing me up in there, and I will see you on CAP."

As Lee was walking to his office to grab some sleep he wondered if Kara was interested in the frat regs because of him. He sure hoped so.

Kara got changed and climbed into her bunk with a smile on her face. She hoped it would not take long to change the frat regs. She had only backed Lee up for her own selfish reasons and the Chief and Boomer of course. With those thoughts on her mind she fell asleep.

* * *

After Lee and Kara left his office Adama called down to the hangar bay and requested that Chief Tyrol come to his office. He would not tell the chief who had told him about Boomer and him. Adama knew that they would never find out who planted the bombs, but he would have to do something about them breaking the frat regulations.

As the Chief was headed to see Commander Adama he knew that he and Boomer had been found out. He wondered what the commander was going to do about it. The chief stood outside the hatch way for a moment before knocking. When he entered the commander was sitting behind his desk reading.

When the chief entered Adama put down the regulations manual he had been reading. " Have a seat Chief Tyrol "

After the chief had sat down Adama looked at him " I know about you and Boomer and even though I know that it was the two of you in causeway B, I do not think either of you had anything to do with the bombs "

The chief was at a loss for words, so stayed silent.

Adama continued speaking " I also know that some members of your crew lied in order to protect your secret " he paused there to let it sink in "Since I need you on the deck taking care of my planes I am going to have to place the ones who covered for you in the brig for a couple of days "

The chief finally spoke up " Sir, I don't feel right about that, it should be me in the brig "

Adama stood up and started pacing " Like I said, I need you on the deck, so what I said earlier stands, I will be putting Jammer and Cally in the brig "

The chief started to say something else but the commander cut him off " And this thing between you and Boomer ends now, at least until the president and I can come up with a way to relax the frat regulations "

The chief looked up then at his commander " Yes sir, I will end it tonight "

" Good " Adama told him " Now get back to work and let Cally and Jammer know that they will be spending some time in the brig, that will be your punishment "

The chief got up and left. He really hated that his actions was going to cause two of his crew to pay for his crimes.

After the chief left Adama placed a call to President Roslin requesting a meeting with her first thing in the morning. They needed to talk about the regulations and finding a source for water.

* * *

Kara woke up the next morning and got up to get ready for CAP, she would be flying with Duck and Flat Top today, she wondered why Apollo was not flying CAP. She could only take a short shower because they had started rationing the water. As soon as she was dressed she headed down to the flight deck. Kara could not help but look around for Lee and when she did not see him she climbed into her viper and started going over her checklist. As she was waiting to be towed into the tube she saw a raptor dock and President Roslin and her aide ' Billy ' stepped out. Kara hoped she was there to talk about the regulations along with trying to come up with a solution to their water shortage.

Just as she was being towed to her tube she saw Lee show up on the deck. Apparently he was there to escort the President to see Commander Adama. Kara saw him glance her way for a moment and even though he could not see her through her helmet she winked at him and started laughing at herself for acting like some high school girl with a crush. Which made her wonder why she was having these feelings towards him. As soon as she launched all those thoughts vanished as she was shot into space.

Lee hated that he would not be flying CAP with Kara today. She was his last thought before he went to sleep last night and his first thought when he woke up. Lee was not sure how he felt about her, he just knew he could not stop thinking about her. He knew that he had to be on the hangar deck to escort Roslin to see his father, but he was also hoping to catch a glimpse of Kara. He did manage to see her, but she was already in her viper waiting to launch. He looked her way briefly before giving Roslin his attention. " This way Madame President the Commander is waiting for you in his office "

* * *

Adama was seated behind his desk when Lee and President Roslin entered. He stood up and motioned them towards the sofa. After taking a seat in the chair he began the meeting. " I have asked you here today to discuss a couple of things, one being what my son has already spoken to you about "

" Oh, you mean the frat regulations, yes I wanted to speak to you about that also" Roslin told him

Lee decided just to listen and only speak if asked to.

" Even though it should be a military matter I would like your opinion about it " Adama told her

Roslin adjusted herself on the sofa before speaking " Your son made some very valid points, but I think that we should keep an eye on the crew over the next couple of weeks before coming to a decision, that is if you agree "

Adama looked at Lee to gauge his reaction " I agree with you, and now on to the next problem, our water shortage "

Roslin cleared her throat " I am sorry, but I do not have any suggestions for that, what about you?"

Adama got up and grabbed some papers off his desk before sitting back down " I suggest we send out some raptors to scout for any place that might have a water source "

" That sounds reasonable, how much longer do you think the remaining water will last us?" she asked

Adama answered her after looking over the papers once again " About a week if all ships agree to some very harsh restrictions "

" I will see that they do, now if that is all I really need to get back to my ship " Roslin said as she stood up

Adama stood also, as did Lee " No that is it for right now, thank you for your time, I will have a marine escort you back, I need to speak with Captain Adama now "

Roslin said good-bye and then left.

As soon as Roslin left Adama told Lee to sit back down " I need you to pick three raptor pilots to scout for any source of water "

Lee started running the raptor pilots through his head to see who was available " I can send Racetrack, Boomer and Crashdown out to search as soon as you are ready "

Adama nodded " We need to start sending them now and change them out over a six hour rotation period " Adama had something else to say " I agree with the president, so I want you to keep an eye on your pilots and report back to me if there are anymore frat regs being broken, I do not want anything to happen until we make a decision about this issue "

Lee spoke up then " Well, dad I can assure you there will be problems somewhere along the way, so I think you will need to make up your mind soon "

Adama rose putting an end to the meeting " I will, in the meantime get those raptors in the air "

" Yes sir " Lee said as he left the office

* * *

After Lee had rounded up the pilots he needed for the mission he went down to the flight deck to wait on them. After Racetrack, Boomer and Crashdown had made it down there with their ECO'S he explained the mission to them and watched while they launched. He knew that Kara was still out on Cap and when she got back he would be heading out for his turn on CAP. He really wanted to set up a time to talk with her later to tell her about the meeting with the president and his father.

While he was waiting for her to return he started looking around at the deck crew and the pilots that were on the hangar deck. He noticed that several of the men and women were joking around with each other. He began to wonder how many of them were breaking the frat regulations. Under any other circumstance he would not approve, but this was a different time now that the worlds had ended. Lee knew that if they were not breaking them now, that they soon would be.

He stopped looking around when he heard the vipers landing and found himself watching for Kara. She made a perfect landing as usual he noticed. Lee waited while she went through her checklist with the chief before approaching her. As soon as he got close to her he called out to her " Hey Starbuck, can I talk to you for a sec?"

Kara who had started thinking about Lee as soon as she landed was glad when he called out to her. She walked over to where he was, helmet hanging from one of her hands while the other one brushed her hair out of her face " Sure, what's up?" she said as she stopped in front of him

" I wanted to see if you would meet up with me later, so I could fill you in on the meeting with the commander and the president, but right now I have CAP." he waited to see what she would say

Kara who had stopped messing with her hair said " Sure, how about I meet you in your office later?"

Lee nodded as he started walking backwards towards his viper " I get off CAP in four hours, so I'll see you then " he then turned and climbed up the steps to his viper.

Kara stood there watching him until he launched wondering what had happened in the meeting. After that she headed for the showers and hopefully a two hour nap.

* * *

While Lee was on CAP he heard that one of the raptors had found a water source. As soon as he landed he got the call to report to the CIC, which meant he could not meet up with Kara. When he entered the CIC Gaeta told him that they were waiting for him in the situation room. He went in to find Tigh, Roslin, Billy and his dad waiting on him.

Lee took a seat at the table along with the rest of them. " I heard that one of the raptors has found water."

" They did Lee " Adama sighed " It's not going to be easy to get, it is frozen solid and we don't have the man power for that big of an operation "

Roslin spoke up then " We could always use the prisoners on the Astral Queen "

" Somehow I don't think they will agree to do it " Lee told them

Tigh who had been silent spoke " Well, if they want water they don't have much choice "

Billy spoke up at this time " We could go ask them, maybe they would like the chance to get outdoors "

" It is worth a try, Lee I want you to go over there and take a few people with you. " Adama said

" I think you should take Billy with you so that he can represent the office of the president " Roslin told Lee

Adama stood up " It is settled then, Lee I want you to pick that team now because we need to start work on this as soon as possible "

Lee stood up to leave " I will be ready within the hour "

After that they all filed out of the room.

* * *

Lee wanted Kara to be on his team so he went in search of her. Everywhere he looked she was not to be found so he headed to his office, he had less than thirty minutes before he had to leave. Upon entering his office he found her at his desk going over the flight roster, so he closed the hatch and went to sit down behind his desk. " Sorry I am late, but a mission has come up "

Kara looked up from the roster to look at him " I figured as much, I heard about Racetrack finding water, so what is the mission?"

Lee was glad that she was not upset about him being late, but he should have known , Kara was like him she knew the job came first. " President Roslin wants me to go and talk to the prisoners on the Astral Queen and ask for their help."

Kara put the papers down " Do I get to be part of this mission?"

Lee smiled and nodded " I was planning on asking you?"

" I'm in " Kara said as she stood up " Who else is going?"

Lee got up and walked around the desk " The president's aide Billy and I was thinking someone from the deck crew who might know what kind of equipment we might need "

Kara stood there thinking for a minute " I think you should ask Cally, other than the chief she would know what will be needed "

" I thought she was in the brig " Lee said as he began changing into his uniform and out of his flight suit

Kara turned around while he changed, not that she really wanted to, but protocol meant that she should " So, just spring her from the brig "

Lee finished changing and turned around to see that Kara still had her back to him " You can turn around now and I will put in a call for her to meet us on the hangar deck "

Since Kara was already in her uniform they headed to the hangar bay. As they were walking Kara asked " So what happened in the meeting earlier?"

Lee looked at her walking beside him " I will just give you the highlights, the commander and the president said that they would make a decision about the frat regs in the next two weeks and we decided to send the raptors out to search for water "

" So, two weeks?" Kara asked and Lee just nodded because they had reached the hangar bay and he saw Billy and Cally waiting on them.

Lee briefed them on the mission during the flight to the Astral Queen.

* * *

( Leave a comment )


	10. Chapter 10

A Different Beginning----Chapter 10

AU and it starts at the mini-series. I am writing this solo so I am sorry for any mistakes.

Chapter 10

Once they stepped foot off the raptor onto the Astral Queen things started to go badly. The first thing they did was place them all in separate cells. Lee started demanding to see the person in charge, it seemed the prisoners had control of the ship.

After what seemed like forever two prisoners came and took Lee from his cell. Lee managed to break free from one of them, knocking him to the floor, then swung and hit the one still holding him. By that time the other one got back up and grabbed Lee from behind shoving him face down on the dirty floor. After they kicked him around a bit they picked him up and dragged him away.

Kara who had been watching started screaming " I am going to kill you mother frakers when I get out of here "

Billy and Cally could only stand there at their cell doors and watch in horror as Apollo was beaten up.

Kara was pacing her cell trying to figure out how to get out so she could go and help Lee. She could not believe how wrong this had all gone.

Lee was taken upstairs to the monitoring room and handcuffed to a chair. " I demand to see whoever is in charge."

He did not have long to wait before someone came in and ordered everyone out of the room " I heard you wanted to see me, Apollo."

Lee looked up at the man who had used his call sign and saw that it was Tom Zarek. " So I take it you are in charge?" and added " How long have the prisoners had control of this ship?"

Zarek took a seat in the chair opposite of Lee " We took control right after we jumped from Ragnar " he leaned closer to Lee " What are you doing here Apollo?"

" We need help getting water off the surface, as I am sure you are aware we have lost most of the water that supplies the fleet " Lee told him

Zarek sneered " Why should we help you?"

Lee looked Zarek straight in his eyes " You need water just like the rest of us "

Zarek leaned back and appeared to be thinking " What do we get out of this?"

Lee should have known that someone like Zarek would want something in return " We can offer points towards early release for most of you "

Zarek sneered again " That is not enough "

" What else do you want?" Lee asked getting fed up with the run around he was getting from Zarek

Zarek stood up " We want a new election for the President of the fleet "

Out of all the things Zarek could have asked for this was the last thing Lee expected " There can't be another election for at least six months, Roslin is serving out President Adar's last term "

Zarek thought about that for a minute " Then I want a promise that we will have a new election in six months, in the meantime I think a Vice-President should be named "

Lee had not thought about it before, but what Zarek was asking seemed reasonable " Let me call the Galactica and confirm these things with the commander and the president, also I want to know that my people are okay before I make the call "

Zarek moved out of Lee's way so he could see his people on the monitors " As you can see, they are fine "

Lee saw that they were " Then uncuff me so that I can make the call "

Zarek removed the handcuffs from Lee and gave him the phone. It took a while before they could reach an agreement with the Adama and President Roslin. Lee knew that his father would be sending in a squad of marines, he hoped to contain this situation before they arrived. " I would like to go below and speak to my people "

* * *

In the meantime down in the cells something was happening. Kara had been laying in her bunk trying to figure a way out of this mess when a prisoner decided to go into Cally's cell. Kara did not move a muscle while she waited to see what was going to happen, although she had a pretty good idea.

Kara noticed that Cally who had been laying in her bunk did not move either. Kara and Cally watched as the prisoner approached Cally and sat on the side of her bed. He started talking to her and when Cally ignored him he got angry and started whispering in her ear exactly what he was going to do. As he started trying to take her clothes off Cally turned her head and bit part of his ear off even though he had a gun.

Kara had gotten up by this time and was standing by the bars that separated her cell from Cally's. As soon as Cally bit his ear he jerked back against the very bars that Kara was standing by. Kara reached through the bars and grabbed him around the throat causing him to misfire the gun which ended up grazing Kara's thigh before he dropped it. Kara knew there was nothing she could do for herself at the moment, but keep a choke hold on the prisoner so he could not get to Cally. " Cally get his gun " Cally looked around until she found the gun and picked it up pointing it at the prisoner. Kara knew the sound of gunfire would have someone coming soon. " Just hold the gun on him Cally " Kara said as she hobbled back to sit on the cot.

As Lee and Zarek were walking to the cells they heard gunfire and Lee took off running with Zarek right behind him. When they reached the cells Lee stopped a moment to take it all in " Open their cells Zarek " Lee yelled. Lee looked at Kara and knew she was okay for now, but he needed to get into the cell with Cally, he could see the gun shaking in her hand. Once the cell door opened he went in and took the gun from Cally. Lee noticed that Zarek had entered the cell with him. Before anything else could be done they were surrounded by marines who had sneaked aboard while the prisoners were distracted. Lee noticed that one of the marines had Zarek in his sights " You had better decide now if you are ready to die or be here to see the election process through "

Zarek who realized he was not ready to die told his men to lower their weapons. The cell doors were opened and the prisoners were placed back inside. Once Lee saw that the marines had the situation under control he rushed into Kara's cell and knelt down by her " Kara, are you okay?"

Although it was only a flesh wound, her thigh was throbbing " It's fine Lee, it is only a flesh wound " and then she looked at him " Are you okay?"

Lee reached down and pulled her up off the cot " I'm doing better than you are, so lean on me and I will help you to the raptor "

Kara really did not have much choice, but to lean on him, she knew she would not be able to get to the raptor without his help. " Let's go " Kara knew she would have to go see Cottle, she just hoped her injury would not keep her out of the cockpit for long.

As Lee was helping Kara to the raptor he started thinking about his upcoming meeting with the president and his dad. He had to make sure that the bargains he had made with Zarek would be honored by them. He looked at Kara and saw her grimacing in pain and wished he had not asked her to come on this mission with him. " I'm sorry Kara, I should never have asked you to come "

Kara glared at him " For frak's sake Lee, it was a mission, I do go on missions, you know "

" Yeah but... " Kara interrupted him " No buts Lee, besides the bullet just grazed me "

Lee knew it was no use arguing with her and let it go, because they were landing on the Galactica. As soon as they entered sickbay Lee saw his dad pacing and watched as he came rushing towards them when he saw that Kara was hurt.

* * *

Adama reached out for Kara as soon as he reached them. " Are you okay?"

" Yes sir " Kara tried to remove her arm from around Lee's neck, but he had her hand and did not let it go " I've got her dad, find a bed that I can put her in "

Adama looked at his son and did not understand why he would not let Kara go, then he noticed the cuts and bruises on Lee " I will take her son, you need to be checked out yourself "

Finally Lee released her to his dad " Make sure you stay with her " Lee said as he walked away to find a nurse.

Adama asked her again " Are you sure you are okay?"

Kara looked at him and grinned " It is just a flesh wound, sir "

Once Kara was settled and Doc Cottle had came into the room, he sent Adama to the waiting area. Lee came out of one of the rooms and sat beside him " What happened over there Lee, I thought everything was under control?"

After looking around to make sure no one was listening Lee told his dad as much as he knew. " Everything was okay until some prisoner went into Cally's cell and tried to attack her "

Adama shook his head " How is Cally and how did Kara end up getting shot?"

" Cally is fine "Lee had to think back to what Billy had told him " Cally bit off a piece of the guys ear causing him to jump back against the bars of the cell Kara was in " at his fathers nod he continued " Apparently Kara grabbed him in a choke hold and his gun went off grazing her thigh "

Adama looked towards the curtain Kara was behind " Thank goodness it wasn't worse, I know Kara and this will keep her out of the cockpit for a few days "

" So?" Lee knew that, he just did not understand why his dad had brought it up.

Adama had to smile about how naive Lee was when it came to Kara " Son, by the time Kara can fly again she will have run everyone crazy "

" Why should it bother her to rest for a couple of days?" Lee asked wanting to understand

" Let me put it this way, we are going to have to find a way to keep her busy, and I think I have the perfect solution " Adama said still smiling

Now Lee was intrigued " How?"

Adama stood up to stretch his legs and turned to look at Lee " I was going to tell you later, but now is as good a time as any " he sat back down before continuing " I am sending you and a team of marines down to the surface to supervise the prisoners, and I now think that sending Kara with you would be a good idea "

Lee nodded his head in understanding " So this way she will be kept busy "

" Yes and I'm sure that everyone on the Galactica will be thankful " Adama told him just as a nurse was walking over to them

Before the nurse made it to them Lee had to ask " Is she really that bad when she can't fly?" Adama nodded " Sometimes "

The nurse stopped before them, so they stood up " She is going to be fine although it was a little more than just a graze "

Adama got a worried look " How much more?"

" Not much, she had to have a few stitches, but she can walk, she will have to use crutches for a couple of days " the nurse told them before she left

Adama turned to Lee " The president is waiting in my office for your debrief, just give me a minute with Kara and then we will head up "

Lee wanted to go in and see her too, but he felt it would be better if he just waited. Lee knew his father was worried about Kara, but so was he. Lee took a chance and peeped through the curtain and saw his dad sitting next to her, brushing the hair back that had fallen in her face. Lee guessed his father really did think of her as his daughter. He sat back down and waited on his dad. As soon as he emerged from Kara's room it was back to business as usual " Let's go Captain, we have kept the president waiting long enough "

Lee fell in next to his father as they headed to his office. Lee really hoped they would not go back on the things they had promised Zarek. He was ready to get this meeting over with so he could shower and go visit Kara. Lee was looking forward to being down on the surface for a few days, he just hoped Kara would feel the same way.

Thankfully the meeting had not taken long. Even though Roslin was upset that she had to make a deal with someone like Zarek, she agreed to uphold it. Lee found out that he would be heading down to the surface in the morning. After the meeting broke up he headed to take a shower and change.

* * *

Kara had taken a short nap after the Doc finished putting on her bandage and now that she was awake she was bored. She knew Lee had brought her in, but she had not seen him since. She was going to ask Adama where he was, but decided against it. As she lay there thinking about the past week she could not get over how close she and Lee had become. She barely knew him, but sometimes it felt like she had known him forever.

Kara heard someone headed towards her room, so she closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep. As that person walked up to the side of her bed she knew without looking that it was Lee. He stood there a while before he reached out and picked up one of her hands and whispered " I am so sorry that you got hurt Kara "

Kara waited a minute, then stretched and yawned like she was just waking up and Lee let go of her hand. She opened her eyes to see him standing there and she could tell by the look on his face that he blamed himself for her getting shot. " It was not your fault Lee, so quit thinking it was "

Lee pulled the chair that was in the room up next to her bed and sat down " So, how long before you can fly again?"

Kara scooted up in the bed so that she was sitting up. " Doc says at least a week "

Lee wanted to touch her but didn't " The commander has another mission for us if you are up to it "

That got her attention " What do we have to do this time?"

" He wants us and a team of marines down on the surface supervising the prisoners and the civilians as they gather the water " Lee was not sure she would agree to this

" It beats doing nothing, when do we leave? "Kara asked

" First thing in the morning, if Cottle thinks you are up for it " Lee told her

Kara snorted " He will agree believe me, he does not want me in his sickbay any longer than I have to be "

Lee knew he still had a lot to learn about Kara Thrace, but he was looking forward to it. " I had better go so you can get some sleep " when he got up he leaned over and kissed her on the cheek " See you in the morning Kara " and he was out the door before she could say anything.

Kara was smiling as he left, she found out she was looking forward to spending some time with Lee off the Galactica. She fell asleep thinking of the way he had kissed her cheek and if she had anything to do about it he would be kissing a lot more than just her cheek.

As Lee was heading to his office he realized that he was looking forward to tomorrow. He would spend time getting to know her better and maybe steal a kiss or two. When he reached his office he sat down to write up the report about what had happened on the Astral Queen. After he finished he packed a small bag to take with him to the icy planet in case they stayed overnight. He did not think they would because it was probably to cold to stay past dark. Once he was finished with everything, he climbed into his bed and just like every night he started thinking about Kara. He could not believe how enthralled he was with her. They had been through a lot with each other since the worlds ended, and it had brought them closer to each other. Lee soon fell asleep with a smile on his face.

* * *

Kara woke the next morning with Cottle changing her bandage, and he was not being gentle about it. " For fraks sake, do you have to be so rough?"

Cottle just glared at her " The sooner I get this changed the sooner you can get out of my sickbay. " he finished taping it up " I am allowing you to go down to the planet, but that does not mean you can just run all over the place and try to stay off your feet as much as possible." he gathered his stuff together and before he left he told her " You can leave as soon as you get dressed, come back in a couple of days so that bandage can be changed "

Kara saw a pile of her clothes at the foot of her bed so she grabbed them and got dressed. She scooted to the edge of the bed and tried to stand up, but she could not walk without the crutches so she grabbed them and headed to her bunk room. She threw a few things into a bag and sat down and waited on Apollo. As she sat there she looked around and saw that their bunk room was only half full. Before the cylons decided to end their worlds the bunk room was completely full. Kara got up and went to her locker and pulled out her idols, she then said a prayer for all the people they had lost. Just as she had put the idols back, Apollo walked in " Are you ready to go?"

" Frak yes " she said as she stood up " Who else do we know that is going with us?"

Lee wanted to help her, but if he had learned anything about Kara, it was that she did not want help that often, so he watched her get up and grab her bag. " Cally and Jammer will be going along with a couple more of the deck crew."

As they went through the hatch he reached down and grabbed his bag. He walked beside her slowly all the way to the hangar bay, once they got there she handed him her bag and crutches as she backed down the ladder. The second he stepped down she took her bag and crutches back. "So do we get to take our own raptor or do we get a chauffeur?"

He motioned toward a waiting raptor and she saw Cally and Jammer waiting on them. When they made it over to the raptor Cally grabbed her bag and threw it into the back with theirs. " How is the leg Starbuck?"

" A pain in the ass, but I'll manage " she said as she went into the raptor and sat in the ECO chair. After that the rest of them boarded and before they knew it they were on there way down to the planet. The marines and some other civilians were brought down in a couple of raptors that would not be staying on the planet.

Once they were all there Cally, Jammer and two other civilians went to work setting up the equipment that would be needed to melt the ice. The marines set up a perimeter and Lee and a few others set up a large tent that would have portable heat in it. Kara looked around and saw that the prisoners were already at work chipping the ice that was to be melted. She did not understand the whole process so she quickly became disinterested and went into the now set up tent. She grabbed the first chair she saw and sat down, wondering what the frak she would be doing. She did not have to wonder very long, cause Lee had came in and handed her a bunch of paperwork. " What is this?" she asked while waving the papers at him.

Lee sighed and sat down beside her after pulling over a table and a chair " It will be your job to keep up with how much water we move each day."

" Oh joy " Kara remarked in a snarky way

" Someone has to do it, so it might as well be you " he told her. Lee started thinking maybe this was not such a good idea after all. He took another chance and said " There is a cot set up over there in case you need to lie down "

Kara scowled at him " Fine, now is there something you need to be doing besides babysitting me?"

Lee stood up " Yes, but I will be back to check on you shortly " and walked out of the tent.

* * *

Lee did not show up until the end of the day and when he entered the tent he found Kara fast asleep on the cot. He wanted to wake her and see if she wanted to go back to the Galactica for the night, but he decided to let her sleep. The marines had stayed but everyone else had gone back up. Lee figured it was warm enough in the tent to stay, so he went about fixing them something to eat before he woke her up.

After he had their dinner ready he went over and shook her awake. Without opening her eyes she asked " Why did you wake me up?"

Lee sat down on the edge of the cot and watched her stretch before she opened her eyes and looked at him " What?"

" I fixed us something to eat, I figured you haven't eaten today, I know I haven't " Lee said as he stood up and went to the table and sat down to wait on her

Kara sat up slowly and moved her legs off the side of the bed. When she tried to stand up she fell back down on the bed " Frak "

Lee laughed but did not move he just watched to see if she tried to stand again " You might want to try it with your crutches "

Kara did not reply, she grabbed her crutches and was able to stay standing this time. She hobbled over to the table and sat down " Where is everyone else?"

Lee fixed her a bowl of noodles and passed them to her " Except for the marines everybody else went back up "

Kara watched as he fixed his bowl " Why did we stay "

Before Lee took a bite he said " You were asleep and I was not sure if I should wake you, we can stay here or go back up after we eat "

Kara looked around the tent it seemed cozy and warm " I guess we should just stay here, it would keep us from having to get up early and fly back down here "

Lee smiled " I agree, now let's eat before it gets cold "

After they finished eating Lee cleaned up while Kara went to a corner of the tent where a make shift bathroom had been set up. She washed up as best she could and came out so Lee could take his turn. As she was waiting she wondered where he was going to sleep, it was to cold to sleep on the floor.

When Lee came out Kara was back in her cot, he looked around for a place to lay out his sleeping bag. Kara watched him trying to find a place to sleep. " Lee it is too cold for you to sleep on the floor, we can share the cot "

Lee hesitated " Are you sure?"

Kara smirked at him " Yes I'm sure Lee, look we both have our own sleeping bags so we will just be sharing the cot " she patted the side of the bed by her " Come on Lee, I don't bite, I promise "

Lee grabbed his bag and went over to the cot, once he laid it out he climbed inside " This is much warmer than the floor would have been and more comfortable "

Kara laughed " You left out the company, now isn't this better than sleeping alone?"

Lee turned over so that he was facing her " Much better, now close your eyes and get to sleep "

Kara winked at him " Is that an order, Captain?"

Lee nodded " Yes it is " and he closed his eyes to keep from looking at her. He was much to close to her and it was starting to effect him. After ten minutes he opened his eyes and saw that she had fallen asleep, so he watched her until he drifted off.

Kara woke up first and found herself cradled in Lee's arms. Sometime during the night she must have turned over with her back to him and either he had pulled her close or she had scooted back up against him. Kara had never been held that way, so she stayed still and fell back to sleep.

When Lee woke up he felt a warm weight in his arms and when he remembered that he was in bed with Kara he opened his eyes. She looked so peaceful in sleep, so he pulled her closer to him and just enjoyed holding her. He knew that she would wake up soon so he closed his eyes and waited for her to wake up to see what she would do.

When she first woke up she stiffened, then she relaxed and started stretching like a lazy cat. Then she turned to look at him and found him looking back " That was the best nights sleep I have had since the worlds ended "

Lee reached up and pushed her hair behind her ear " Me too, and I really don't want to get up "

Kara had been looking at how blue his eyes were in the morning and almost did not hear what he said " Me either, but we have to "

Lee tapped her on the end of her nose before sitting up " Stay in bed a little longer, I will get ready first "

Kara was not going to argue with that " Sounds like a plan " she said as she scooted further under the covers and watched him get ready.

Lee was amazed at how right it felt to wake up with Kara in his arms, and they had not even fraked. It was all he could do, not to try and kiss her, but promised himself he would before they went back to the Galactica. Lee had never been one to stay with a woman after they had fraked, he either always left or made it plain that she should leave if they were at his place. He could not imagine doing either with Kara. Lee found he could hardly wait for the day to end so they could repeat the last night. If sleeping with her and holding her was all that happened he would be happy with that. He looked over to find her watching him and wondered if she was thinking the same thing. It was time for him to leave " Do you need anything before I go?"

Kara was enjoying laying there watching Lee get ready for work. She wondered if he would want to stay down here tonight, she sure hoped so. Kara really was hoping that the commander and the president was making some headway regarding the frat regulations. When he turned and saw her watching him she did not look away. " No, maybe some lunch later on "

He pulled the tent flap back " I'll see you at lunch, we need to get a report together to send to the commander " and then he was gone

As soon as he left Kara got up and got ready. She decided to go for a little walk to work out the stiffness in her leg. Kara grabbed her crutches and walked out into the morning sun. It was beautiful down here, but to cold to live here. She saw Cally and hobbled over to her " Do you need some help?"

Cally who was absorbed in her work jumped when Kara spoke " Frak Starbuck you scared me " Cally was nervous around the prisoners after what had happened.

" Frak I'm sorry Cally " Kara had forgotten for a moment that Cally had been attacked

Cally pointed to a crate " Sit there and feed me this hose as I need it "

Kara put her crutches to the side and sat down picking up the hose " So, you guys went back up last night?"

Cally smiled at her " We did, but it seems you and Apollo decided to stay down here, is there something you want to tell me?"

Kara laughed at Cally's attempt to find something out " Nothing happened, if that is what you are thinking "

Cally stopped what she was doing and looked at Starbuck " That's a shame cause I heard there are several females on board the Galactica hoping to get his attention "

Starbuck smirked " Well, they will have to get in line because I have first dibs "

" Thought you might, but you had better hurry " Cally said as she went back to work

Frak Kara thought, if he did not make a move soon she was going to have to. Kara wondered which females it was that was after Apollo. It looked like she was going to have to mark her territory sooner rather than later. She continued working with Cally until it was time for lunch and headed back to the tent. When she got there Lee was already making lunch. " What do you have there?"

Lee turned around when he heard her come in " It seems someone sent me a basket of food "

Kara walked over to the table and sat down " Who?"

Lee sat down and finished going through the basket " The card said it was from Dee, the comms officer " he said smiling

Kara gritted her teeth, she should have known Dee would be one of them " Ooh how nice, Apollo has an admirer "

Lee continued smiling " If you are nice I will share it with you "

" No thanks, I'll just have some more noodles " she said as she made to get up to go fix her lunch

Lee wondered what was wrong with her " Don't be silly Kara, there is plenty here for both of us "

" I said no thanks, now leave me alone while I fix my own lunch " Kara said a bit snarky

Lee left her alone and just chalked it up as another thing he did not understand about her.

After she hobbled around fixing her lunch she sat back down and without saying anything to him started eating.

Lee watched her as she ate wondering what had pissed her off. " What did you do today?"

Kara took another bite before answering " I helped Cally out "

Lee stared at her " While you were out I got a message, Racetrack has volunteered to bring some supplies down later this afternoon "

There's another one Kara thought " Great " she said as she stood up " I am going for a walk " and out the tent she went.

Lee could not figure out what could have happened since this morning to piss her off. Maybe she was mad that Dee had sent him something to eat and not her, or maybe she was jealous. Lee thought he might have to test the jealous theory. He smiled the whole time he finished his lunch thinking of ways to rattle her.

* * *

While Kara was hobbling around she stopped to speak to a few of the marines she knew. As Kara made her way over to Cally she made sure to avoid the prisoners. Once she got there she made sure to cough so she would not spook Cally. " What can I do to help?"

Cally thought about it for a minute then handed her a clip board " You can keep up with each ship that comes down to collect it's water."

Kara took the clip board and sat down on a crate " Why are the smaller ships coming after their own water?"

" It's just easier to fill them now instead of the Galactica having to give it to them later " Cally explained

" Makes sense " Kara said as she made a notation of the ship that had just left " How much longer do you think we will be her?"

Cally stopped a moment to rest from pulling on the large hoses " Today and tomorrow and we should be finished, how did your lunch with Apollo go?"

Kara made a face " Dee sent him down a picnic basket and then I found out that Racetrack has volunteered to bring down supplies today "

Cally chuckled " I told you that some of them were trying to get his attention "

Kara did not think it was funny " They are starting to piss me off "

They worked for a while in silence, then they heard a raptor coming in.

Kara looked over at the raptor that had just landed and then she saw Lee heading towards it. After she saw Lee go inside she grabbed her crutches and headed that way.

Cally called after her " What are you going to do Starbuck?"

Kara called back " I'm not sure yet "

Kara walked slowly up to the raptor, when she got close she could here them talking. She wondered why they were inside.

She could hear Lee saying " I appreciate you doing this during your free time "

Kara could here Racetrack using her sweet voice " Anything to help out our CAG."

" How are things up on the Galactica?" he asked

" Boring, you should come back tonight, we are going to play cards in the rec room " she said sweetly

After what seemed like a minute Lee answered " I might, it just depends on how things are going down here "

Kara had heard enough of Racetrack's flirting, so she banged her crutch on the side of the raptor " Need any help Captain, or are you planning on staying inside all day?"

Lee stuck his head out to see a very irate Kara " Just taking the opportunity to get out of the cold for a minute "

Kara sat down on the wing of the raptor " Don't you think it is time to start unloading the supplies that Racetrack so generously gave up her free time to bring?"

Racetrack stepped out of the raptor then " It's okay, I am not in a hurry "

Lee came out next " Kara's right we need to get this stuff to the tent, I am going to grab a couple of guys to help "

After Lee left Kara glared at Racetrack " What are you trying to pull?"

Racetrack glared right back " Nothing, just trying to help out the CAG, plus I heard a rumor that the frat regs might change "

Kara looked her up and down " What does that have to do with the CAG?"

Racetrack looked at Starbuck like she was crazy " Have you not noticed how hot our CAG looks?"

Kara folded her arms across her chest " So, I take it this is you trying to get his attention "

Racetrack nodded " Of course it is "

Kara looked and saw Lee and a couple of guys headed back their way so she let the subject drop.

Kara asked Racetrack to bring a box inside the tent so that she would see that their was only one cot, because she knew that everyone knew they had spent last night down here.

Kara smiled when she saw Racetrack had figured it out. As Racetrack passed her she whispered to Starbuck " This doesn't change a thing "

After everyone had left Kara and Lee were alone inside the tent " What was up with you and Racetrack?"

Kara shrugged her shoulders " Nothing "

Kara knew Lee did not believe her " So are you going back up tonight to play cards?"

Lee who had been unpacking boxes turned to look at her " It depends "

Kara sat down and pulled a box towards her " It depends on what?"

Lee walked around the table and knelt down beside her so he could look her in the eyes " On you "

Kara could not help but stare into his blue eyes " On me how?"

Lee reached for one of her hands " Do you want me to stay down here with you?"

Kara's brain screamed yes, but " You can do whatever you want to do Lee "

Lee let go of her hand and stood up and went back to unpacking his box " Since you don't care I might as well go back and play cards "

No Kara thought, that is not what she wanted, but she would not ask him to stay. Nothing else was said between them after that. Kara got up and went outside to get away from Lee, so she could think. Before she knew it Lee came out dressed in his tanks and a pair of off duty pants. " I am off, do you think you can manage down here on your own?"

As he was pulling his jacket on she went to walk inside the tent " I'll be fine, just worry about yourself " she said tersely

Lee did not really want to go, but when Kara did not ask him to stay he decided to go just to show her that he could. All he wanted was to stay right here with her, maybe she did not want to have anything to do with him. All he knew was that he kept getting mixed signals from her. Lee knew that Racetrack had been flirting with him earlier and it seems Kara knew it too.

Lee knew the marines would be here if Kara needed them so he took the raptor and headed to the Galactica. It was not long before he was involved in a game of triad. Lee looked around the table at the people he was playing against Duck, Crashdown, Boomer, Racetrack and Dee. Lee also knew that Dee and Racetrack had been flirting with him, he was not interested in them though, it seems only Kara could hold his attention.

One of the players, Duck, asked " Where is Starbuck tonight, it's not like her to miss a game."

Crashdown spoke up " Don't care, at least we have a chance of winning with her not here " The rest of the table agreed as they all nodded their heads

" Why, you guys can't beat her " Lee asked surprised, he did not even knew she played cards

" She plays triad almost as good as she flies, so no we rarely ever beat her " Duck chuckled as he said this

Racetrack asked " Does anybody know if they are going to change the frat regs?"

" I sure hope so " Dee answered as she looked over at Lee and winked at him

" Me too " Racetrack added also looking at Lee

Boomer who had been listening to it all just kept quite.

" Maybe Flat Top will finally get his chance with Starbuck " Crashdown said and the whole table started laughing except Lee.

Lee had only come to try and make Kara jealous. He became tired of the flirting and the game so he stood up " I am going to bed I have to leave early in the morning "

As he was walking to his office he thought about just hopping in the raptor and going back to Kara, then he ran into his father " I did not know you were back Lee, where is Kara?"

Lee knew his father would not like the answer " She wanted to stay down on the planet "

" My gods Lee you left her down there by herself?" Adama yelled

" The marines are down there " Lee told him

" That is not good enough Lee, she can barely walk, what if something happens and she can't get help "Adama said sternly

Lee did not think about that " I was just about to head back down there "

" I think that would be best " Adama said as he walked off

Lee headed straight for the raptor.

* * *

Back on the icy planet Kara was in the tent fuming. She thought something might happen between her and Lee tonight, but he left instead. Maybe she should have sucked up her pride and told him that she wanted him to stay. Kara could not help but wonder what was going on at the game. Finally after a lot of time spent being fussy she ate and climbed into bed, missing Lee immediately.

When Lee made it back to the tent he slipped in quietly and saw Kara asleep on the cot. He undressed down to his tanks and boxers and grabbed his sleeping bag and slipped into bed beside her. Kara immediately backed up to him, so Lee draped one of his arms over her and placed one under his head. He was glad he had came back tonight and it was not long before he fell asleep.

Kara woke up the next morning laying half on top of someone. She looked up very slowly and saw that it was Lee. Kara tried to move to get off of him but he pulled her closer. The hand that was on her back started to move up and down her back, she looked up to find two blue eyes staring at her " Hi " he said.

Kara blinked, but did not move " Hi yourself " she laid her head back down on his chest " I thought you were not coming back until this morning "

" When dad found out that I had left you down here he kinda ordered me to come back " he said as he continued rubbing her back. " What he did not know was that I was already planning on coming back."

Kara raised her head up to look at him" So anything interesting happen at the game?"

" Not especially " he said as he raised up on his elbows putting his face closer to hers. They just stared at each other and than Lee took a chance and leaned up further and kissed her, softly brushing his lips across hers before he leaned back down. Kara scooted farther up his body until they were face to face and kissed him like he had done to her. Lee then put his hand on the back of her head holding her still while he kissed her again and as soon as she gasped he stuck his tongue inside her mouth to stroke hers. While they were still kissing he rolled her to the side of him and leaning over her he deepened the kiss. Kara did not know how long they had been kissing, she was so caught up in it. Finally they broke apart to catch their breath. " What are we doing Lee?"

Lee quickly kissed her one more time " Breaking frat regs ".

Kara rose up to a sitting position and looked back at him over her shoulder " I thought your dad did not want anything to happen until they made a decision "

Lee reached up to rub her back " He didn't, but I have been wanting to kiss you for the last few days "

Lee sat up then " You are not sorry it happened are you?"

Kara looked over at him " No, but somehow I don't think your dad is thinking about anything happening between us as he thinks about changing the frat regs."

Lee stood up to get dressed " If it will make you feel better we want do anything else until after the decision is made "

As Kara had gotten dressed she had been thinking " So, you think after what just happened that we are going to be able to wait?"

Lee walked over to her and tipped her chin up so he could look her in the eyes " Probably not " and then he kissed her again

They had one more day here and tonight they would be heading back to the Galactica. Which was probably a good thing, because Kara was not sure she would be able to keep her hands off of Lee.

Kissing Kara had been everything Lee thought it would be. And she was right, his dad would probably have a fit if he thought Kara and him were hooking up. Lee knew they had to leave tonight, but he was going to miss sleeping with Kara.

Everybody spent the rest of the day finishing up, and as a result Kara hardly saw Lee. In what seemed like no time at all they were heading back to the Galactica. The mission had been a complete success, now they could jump out of this area.

Over the next two weeks Kara and Lee never kissed again, but they still hung out together. They ran together in the mornings and worked out together at night. And they found ways to accidentally touch each other as often as they could.

It seemed all anybody talked about was when the regs were going to change. Kara had to stand by and watch as Dee and Racetrack flirted with Lee ever chance they got. And for some reason Flat Top had been paying her a lot of attention.

Lee had just found out from the commander that a decision had been made regarding the frat regulations. Adama had told him to assemble the pilots and deck crew who were off-shift in the morning for a meeting in the briefing room. Although he did not tell Lee about the decision, Lee was still glad it had been made. He was getting tired of fending off the women who were flirting with him, and promised to deck Flat Top the next time he came around Kara.

( Leave a comment )


	11. Chapter 11

A Different beginning----Chapter 11

MOSTLY AU AND IT STARTS AT THE MINI-SERIES......ALSO I AM WRITING THIS SOLO AND AM SORRY FOR ANY MISTAKES.

Chapter-------11

When Kara woke up she knew that she had only slept for a couple of hours. She had lain awake most of the night trying to figure out what she felt for Lee. Kara also knew that Adama would be letting them know his decision on the frat regs this morning, so she got up to shower and dress before going to the meeting. As she showered she continued trying to work out her feelings for Lee, she knew it would only be a matter of time before she would have to decide. Kara finished showering and got dressed in a tank and pair of cargo's since she had CAP immediately following the meeting. When she walked into the pilots briefing room she saw that Lee was getting ready to go over the CAP schedule for this week, so she took her usual seat.

In the meantime Lee had been pacing in his office, he had no idea which way his dad was going with this. If he was in favor of it Lee was afraid it might spook Kara off. If he decided against it then what would Kara and him do? Plus Lee was afraid if the commander went against it, there might be a small mutiny over it. The people had already gotten their hopes up just as he had gotten his hopes of over Kara. They had only known each other about a month and he hardly knew anything about her, but he was determined to learn as much as he could. Lee wished he could pinpoint the exact moment that they started calling each other by their names so effortlessly. The only thing Lee knew was, that if he was going to have something with someone he wanted it to be Kara. Lee grabbed his jacket and headed to the briefing room.

* * *

Lee had been going over this weeks CAP schedule with the pilots when his father walked in. He immediately called out " Attention on deck " and everyone stood at attention.

Adama waved them down with his hand " Have a seat "

After everyone had sat down " As I am sure you are all aware the President and I have been reviewing a few of the laws and frat regulations is one of them." he paused "We recognize that our world is different now and we must change with it, so we have agreed to change the frat regulations with one restriction "

" What sort of restriction, sir?" someone asked

" That you can not let it affect your jobs " After pausing to see if anyone had a question he continued " This is a military ship, so we will be held to a higher standard, now we are implementing this with a one month probation period and if everything is found okay after that month, we will make it permanent. "

Lee who had taken a seat by Kara while his father was speaking turned his head to look at her as he finished. She had an amused grin on her face, so Lee continued looking around the room and saw that most of the pilots had a similar look.

Adama was speaking again " That is all, dismissed everyone " Adama stayed there standing while the room emptied. He looked out and saw Kara and Lee still sitting there. " Why are you two still here? Starbuck I thought you had the next CAP "

Kara snapped out of her day dreaming and jumped up, as of last week she had been cleared to fly " I do sir, I was just waiting until the coast was clear "

" What about you Apollo?" Adama asked him

Lee jumped up then " I am headed to the hangar deck to work on my viper "

Adama held his hands apart gesturing " Well go "

" Yes sir " they both said and saluted and walked out

As they were walking to the flight deck Lee asked " So, where do we go from here Kara ?"

Kara turned to look at him " I'm not sure Lee, but I think we should take it slow for a while "

Lee stopped which caused her to stop and he pulled her into an empty corridor " Why?"

Kara put her hands on her hips " Don't you think we should give ourselves time to adjust to all of this before we do anything?"

Lee laughed " As long as you know there is something to adjust to then I agree we can take the time "

Kara smirked " You do huh? "

Lee looked around and not seeing anyone he turned her until her back was to the wall then leaned in to kiss her. They had not kissed since that morning on the planet. Kara seemed to have forgotten the point she was trying to make because she started kissing him back, eventually Lee pulled back and looked her in the eyes" Although the next time Flat Top makes a pass at you I might deck him." Lee said joking

Kara laughed " As long as I get to do the same to Dee and Racetrack "

" Agreed " Lee said as he leaned in and starting kissing her neck slowly heading back to her mouth for another kiss.

Kara forced herself to stop the kiss " As much as I'm enjoying this I have to go, I am on CAP "

" We can pick up where we left off after CAP " Lee said as he gave her another quick kiss before heading back onto the walkway.

As they continued on to the hangar deck Kara could see a few people huddled up together talking. She hoped nobody fraked it up within the next month. Kara could already imagine the betting pools that would be started because of this. She then thought of the chief and Boomer and what this meant for them, then she wondered if other people had already been breaking the regs.

" A cubit for your thoughts " Lee said to break the silence between them

" I was thinking about Boomer and the Chief and praying that nobody fraked this up for them " she told him

" Let's hope not " Lee said as they went their separate ways once they made it to the hangar deck.

* * *

Lee was standing on the flight deck when Kara landed and he watched as she jumped from her viper not waiting on the stairs. She then ran right past him without speaking, so Lee followed to see what she was up to. He watched as she went into a supply office and came back out carrying several things then headed to her bunk-room.

When Lee walked in she had a helmet and a can of red paint paint laid out on a table. " What are you doing? "

Kara motioned him over " What the CAG should be doing, it is Flat Tops thousandth landing and we need to get this helmet painted and down to the flight deck "

Lee walked over and stuck his finger in the paint like she had done and started helping her, just as they were finishing Adama walked in. " I hope you plan on cleaning up your mess "

Kara pointed her finger at Lee " It was his fault " she said laughing

Lee pointed back at her and in the process managed to get paint on her face " She is lying dad, this is all her "

Kara then took her finger with paint on it and ran it all the way down the middle of his face, and then she busted out laughing

Adama was happy to see that Lee and Kara had became friends, he watched them play a moment longer then coughed to get their attention "Come on you two, we need to go "

Kara grabbed the helmet and followed the two Adama's towards the flight deck.

As they were walking they were listening to Kara talking about Adama's thousandth landing. They were all three cutting up and enjoying the moment, when the sirens started blaring. They took off rushing down to the hangar deck and was shocked by what had happened.

A cylon raider had jumped into their airspace and crashed into the hangar deck killing several pilots and injuring others. Kara stood there holding the helmet and could not get her feet to move. She watched as people scrambled to help other people. Lee gently touched her shoulder " We need to help Kara " she nodded at him but did not say a word as she started picking her way across the deck to help. All she could think was that Flat Top never got to see his helmet.

After six hours of non stop cleaning they finally had the deck back in order. They heard Adama announce over the comm that there would be a large service tomorrow.

Everyone from the pilots to the deck crew that was not injured met up in the rec room to have a few drinks in honor of the ones they had lost. No one was thinking about the frat regs now. Kara had more to drink then usual, she did not know if she could handle losing any more of their pilots. They had lost so many to the cylons already. Lee did not drink as much as everyone else, he knew tomorrow would be a hard day and Kara was way past getting drunk. When the night started to die down he went to help Kara to her bunk, he knew if he didn't that she would probably end up passed out on the floor of the rec room. Lee reached for one of Kara's hands and pulled her up out of the chair she was slouched over in "Come on Kara , I'll help you to your bunk "

Kara let Lee walk her to her room, as she was plastered " How many more pilots are we going to lose?"

Lee did not know how to answer that because he had been wondering the same thing. " I don't know Kara, we will talk about it tomorrow after you have had some sleep " he took off her boots before putting Kara in her bunk and as soon as she laid down she closed her eyes. Lee covered her and brushed her hair out of her face and was getting ready to leave when Kara mumbled " Stay with me tonight Lee "

Lee really did not want to leave her alone so he undressed , leaving his tank and boxers on and climbed into bed with her. She immediately turned to him and fell asleep with her head on his shoulder. He reached and pulled on her curtain, closing it. This would be the first time they had slept together since the ice planet. Lee soon drifted off to sleep thinking about how they were going to manage with so few pilots left.

Kara woke up the next morning with a splitting headache and felt someone in the bed beside her. Oh gods she thought, please let it be Lee, she was afraid to open her eyes and find out. She knew she had gotten really drunk last night, but could not remember how she got from the rec room to her cot. Frak, she hoped she had not done something stupid, like frak somebody, unless it was Lee. Kara finally opened one eye and saw that it was Lee, and sighed heavily, waking him up. She looked at him " Hi, we didn't do anything stupid did we, cause I don't remember "

Lee laughed " No, you were to drunk to do anything, besides you are still fully dressed "

Kara raised the covers and looked and sure enough she still had all her clothes on. "Not that I mind, but what are you doing in my bunk?"

Lee sighed and tossed the cover back so he could get dressed " Because you asked me to stay "

" Oh " Kara said as she watched him get dressed " Where are you going?"

After he finished dressing he sat on the edge of the cot " I have to go to my office to get dressed for the service which is in less than an hour "

Reality came crashing back in for Kara " Frak" she said softly

" Yeah, now you need to get up and get dressed " Lee said as he stood up " I will see you at the service "

He was half-way to the hatch when he heard Kara " Thanks for making sure I made it back to my bunk "

Lee nodded before leaving the room.

* * *

After the service was over Adama asked Kara and Lee to come with him to his office. " Have a seat while I pour us a drink "

Kara and Lee did as instructed, waiting for Adama to bring them their drink. After he handed it to them he sat down and they drank in silence for a while " I know this might seem to soon after what just happened, but we don't have the luxury of waiting " Adama took another sip " We need more pilots, Lee I will need you to look in the fleet and find some and Starbuck I need you to train them "

Kara sat her glass down and stood up and began pacing " Sir, I don't think I could do that, there must be someone better qualified "

Adama put his glass down and had to turn in his chair to see her " Kara the Academy had enough faith in you to want you to become an instructor"

Kara continued pacing " Yeah, but this will be different, at least at the academy they would already have received some kind of training before they came to me "

" They would only have known what they learned in textbooks, besides there is no one else, you have to do this Kara " Adama told her

Lee who had been watching Kara pace stood up and walked over to her " Kara you can do this, we can do this together "

Kara finally relented " Okay, but where are you supposed to find these pilots, it seems like they would have already come forward if they were in the fleet"

Adama stood up " Look, I need you both to do the jobs I have assigned you, now take the rest of the day off and get started on this first thing in the morning, dismissed "

Kara and Lee left the office together, but Kara headed the opposite way he thought she would be going " Where are you off to?"

" I have a date with a punching bag " she then headed to the gym

* * *

Lee let her go, he figured it was her way of dealing with all that had happened. Even though he had been given the rest of the day off he headed to his office to work. He sent a memo to all fleet captains asking if they knew anyone who was interested in becoming a pilot. Lee knew Kara's part would be harder than his, all he had to do was find them, but she had to train them.

Lee had to try and come up with a manageable CAP rotation using the few pilots they had left. He already knew that they would be pulling double shifts. Even though Kara had to teach the new pilots she would still have to fly double shifts like the rest of them. Lee hoped she would not burn out with all the extra work she would now have.

Two hours later while he was still working up the rosters Kara came walking in and sat down across from him. " I thought you were off Apollo "

Lee who had been looking at her sit down said " I am, but the schedule needed reworking and I thought I would go ahead and get a start on trying to find some pilots to replace the ones we lost "

" How is that going?" Kara asked

Lee put his pen down and rubbed his face before answering " I am waiting to hear back from the fleet captains on who they might know that would be capable of becoming pilots."

Kara nodded and leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes a moment thinking, when she opened her eyes a moment later she saw that Lee was looking at her " What happens if we can't find enough people?"

Lee took a moment to lean back in his chair " Then I am hoping that you can come up with a solution "

Kara reached across the desk and pulled the flight roster towards her and began looking it over " We can pull some of the raptor pilots in and train them on vipers "

Lee leaned forward " Do you think that will work?"

Kara thought a moment before answering " It would be an adjustment for them but I think that some of them could be trained to fly vipers "

Lee looked across his desk at her " Who do you suggest?"

Kara grabbed his pen and started writing " I think Crashdown, Pike and Jojo might work out "

Just as she finished writing there was a knock on the hatch.

Lee yelled " Come in " and took the roster back from Kara as Dee came walking in.

Lee looked up at her " Yes, can I help you Petty Officer?"

Dee shuffled her feet uncomfortable with Starbuck being there but spoke anyway " I was coming off shift when you received a memo from some of the fleet captains and thought I might bring it by for you "

" Thank you " Lee said as he reached for the paper she was carrying, when she did not leave Lee asked " Was there something else you needed?"

Dee looked at Starbuck out of the corner of her eye " No, that was all " she said before turning to leave

" Well thank you again " Lee said as he started reading

Kara had been watching Dee and she knew there was more that she wanted to say to Lee but did not because she was there, after Dee left Kara cleared her throat " I think I just messed up your chances at a date Apollo "

Lee looked at her " What do you mean?"

Kara winked at him " I think Dee was planning on making a move on you but I was here "

" You do huh?" Lee asked laughing then looked back down at the paper " It's a good thing you already came up with a solution because there are only three people listed here that want to be pilots "

" Frak " Kara said immediately forgetting about Dee

" Yeah I know " Lee said sighing as he put the memo down

They both became lost in thought, finally Kara spoke to break the silence " You know the chief has asked me to help him on the cylon raider "

" What are his plans for it?" Lee asked interested

Kara smiled " We are going to try to fly it "

Lee became concerned " Do you think that is wise?"

" Of course " Kara responded

" Where are you going to find the time Kara, you already have to fly double caps and train the pilots " Lee asked worried once again that she would be taking on too much

Kara stood up " I will just have to find the time because this is important "

Lee got up and walked around the desk to stand before her " Just don't wear yourself out Kara " he reached for her and pulled her into his arms

Kara relaxed in his arms and let him hug her " There may not be much time for us "

Lee pulled back from the hug and looked at her closely " That is something we will find the time for "

Kara silently agreed but thought of Dee " You could always spend time with Dee or someone else "

" You are the only someone that I want to spend time with " he said and kissed her lightly on the lips

" Are you sure Lee because I can be pretty intense and stubborn about things?" Kara asked before stepping out of his embrace

Lee let her go " I am sure Kara, now drop it "

Kara went towards the hatch " Fine, I am going down to check out the cylon raider "

Lee did not know when he would have time off again so he walked over to her " I will go with you "

" Suit yourself " Kara said as she walked out of the office with Lee right beside her

* * *

When Kara and Lee made it to the private area where the cylon raider was being kept the chief was already there walking around it.

" What have you figured out so far chief?" Kara asked as she made her way around the raider

The chief stopped and stepped back from it " As far as I can tell it is dead, so we should not have any problems out of it "

Lee joined the conservation " Chief I thought you were off duty "

The chief looked at Lee " I am, but I did not want to wait to get started on it "

By this time Kara had already made her way underneath the raider " There should be a way to open it up " she said as she continued feeling around underneath it

" I have been trying I hope you have better luck than me " chief told her

About that time Kara had found some sort of panel and she pushed on it and the raider started slowly opening " I think I found something " she announced

The chief joined her under the raider " It is a small opening, Starbuck you are going to have to stick your head through it and get a look, it looks to small for me to fit through it "

Kara did not have to asked twice she immediately stuck her head inside and pulled it back out after only a few seconds " My gods it stinks in there"

The chief went to see how far he could get in the opening, he got far enough to know what Kara meant when she said it stinks " Well that looks like your job Starbuck, since I will not be able to fit inside "

" Oh joy " Kara remarked, but she was excited at the prospect of being able to work on the raider " Come on Lee you can fit inside don't you want to have a look " Kara said playfully

" No thanks I can smell it from here " Lee said as he took a few steps back

Kara went and grabbed a pair of orange coveralls and started putting them on.

' Are you going to fool with that thing now?" Lee asked

" Why not, I am off so is the chief " Kara said looking at the chief knowing he would be ready to start working on it

When Lee saw the chief was as excited as Kara about it he said " Well I have other things to do so I will leave you two to it "

" You afraid to get dirty Apollo?" Kara asked but Lee knew she was joking

" Just make sure you take several showers when you are finished " Lee doubted they even heard him because they were already getting prepared to hoist Kara inside of the raider, so he walked off to leave them to it

* * *

Kara and the chief ended up spending several hours on the raider. While the chief checked the outside of the raider making several repairs to the less damaged parts of it Kara had torn out the inside of it. It was a good thing that they had parked it in a private area because the smell easily reached everything in a fifty foot range surrounding it.

By the time Kara had finished she was covered in stinky goo " My gods I smell awful " she said as she tried to get most of it off of her with rags

The chief who smelled almost as bad just being in the area of the thing told her " Starbuck I believe Apollo was right, you are going to have to take a lot of showers and even then you will still probably smell like it "

Kara who still had a smile on her face even though she smelled so bad said " You too chief, somehow I don't think Boomer is going to like the way you smell either "

After that Kara and the chief finally gave up on the raider for the day and they headed to get cleaned up.

* * *

Lee had left them to go work on vipers even though he was off. He knew that Kara and the chief would probably have to be pulled away from the raider and he knew that no matter how much time he spent working on the vipers it would always be more work to do.

Lee noticed that while the chief was busy with the raider that Cally did a good job of running the deck crew. Lee finished up and went to his office to take a shower and get cleaned up. After that he went back to work on the CAP schedule so that he could turn it in to Tigh at the next mornings briefing.

* * *

After Kara had taken several showers she headed to the mess hall to grab something to eat. She noticed that people gave her a wide berth, she must have still smelled. When she finished eating she went in search of Lee to see if he felt like working out. She knew that he would probably still be in his office working or napping.

Kara did not bother knocking on Lee's office hatch she just walked in. She was right about him working. " Have you been working all this time?" she asked as she sat down

Lee did not bother looking up when he heard someone enter his office, he knew that Kara was the only one that would not bother knocking. As she came closer he started to smell something awful and looked up " You stink, and no I worked on vipers for a while "

" Sorry, but if I had scrubbed any more I would not have any skin left " Kara told him not caring what he said " What are you working on now?" she asked

" The schedule to give to Tigh in the morning " Lee told her as he finished up

" When are the new recruits coming?" she asked

" Tomorrow and after they get settled I have a meeting with them and the raptor pilots " Lee told her as he tried to scoot back further away from her

Kara ignored his obvious attempt to get away from her " When do I start training them?"

" Day after tomorrow " he told her

" Do you feel like working out tonight?" Kara asked getting to her reason for stopping by

Lee scrunched up his nose " I don't know if I can with the way you smell "

" Get over it already Lee " Kara told him finally getting upset with him

Lee stood up " Fine, but I think I will grab a bite to eat before we do, I'm not sure if I will still be hungry after that with the way you smell " he said joking

Kara got up " I will meet you in an hour, unless you want me to go with you to eat " she said teasing him

" No thanks, if it is all the same to you I would rather eat without having to smell that awful smell " he said as he headed to the hatchway

Kara got up and walked out with him " Fine, but I am not going to shower before we work out you will just have to deal with it "

" Thank you " Lee said

* * *

Even though Kara had told Lee she would not shower before working out she remembered that she still had a small amount of her vanilla scented shampoo left. She went to her locker and found the shampoo hidden way to the back of her locker. After her shower she headed to the gym to wait on Lee. While she was there waiting on him she started to remember how her and Helo used to come here to work out. It was times like this when she missed Helo the most.

Kara knew it had been more than an hour, she wondered what was taking Lee so long. As she waited she decided to lift weights, something she had not done in a while. Boomer had come in so she knew she would have a spotter if she needed one.

* * *

In the meantime Lee had got caught up with Racetrack. She had sat down at his table right as he had started eating and started up a conservation. " Hey Apollo, do you care if I join you?"

Lee knew he could not tell her no " Sure go ahead "

After a few bites she asked " So, are you glad they changed the frat regs?"

Lee had to give it to her she came right to the point " I guess so " was all he said

" Are you planning on seeing anybody?" she asked while looking directly at him

" Maybe " Lee thought if he kept his answers short that she might change the subject.

Racetrack waited a while before she said anything else " It is Starbuck, isn't it?"

Lee was glad she seemed to realize what others had not " Yes "

Racetrack decided to talk about something else " How is the search for new pilots going?"

" We have a few coming over tomorrow " was all Lee wanted to say about it

Lee had finished eating and got up to leave " I have to go now I have a workout session planned "

" Okay " Racetrack said

As Lee put his tray up he was glad that he had gotten through that fairly easy. After that he headed to the gym.

* * *

When Lee entered the gym he saw Kara lifting weights with Boomer spotting her. He walked on in and started wrapping his hands in order to get ready for his and Kara's sparring match.

Boomer saw him and said " Apollo is here now so I am going to go, I am supposed to meet Galen soon "

Kara laughed " Be prepared he is going to smell like me only worse because I am pretty sure he did not shower as many times as I did "

" Great " was all Boomer said before she walked out

Kara got up and wiped her face " What took you so long?"

Lee felt like teasing her a bit " Oh I had dinner with Racetrack " he said smiling

" You did huh " Kara said as she started wrapping her hands

" Yep " Lee said as he took his place on the mat

Kara took her time before going over to him " So, did you two set up a date?"

Lee decided he did not want to tease her after all being as they were going to start sparring " No, she caught on pretty quick that I was not interested "

" Good " Kara said as she took the first jab

Lee noticed right away that she smelled better " Did you take another shower?" and then he jabbed back at her

Kara did not answer she just continued jabbing back hitting him in the stomach.

After Lee straightened back up he jabbed back catching her on the shoulder " You smell like vanilla "

" I know " was all she said as they settled into sparring

After about thirty minutes they stopped to catch their breath. Lee had had enough so he started unwrapping his hands.

Kara decided to do the same " I just hope Dee figures it out as quick as Racetrack did "

Lee grabbed her and pulled her to him " Why, you are not jealous are you?"

" Never " Kara said laughing

Lee looked around and saw that they were still alone and kissed her briefly before pulling back " Good, because there is no reason for you to be "

After they made out for a while they both headed off for their showers and then to bed separately with plans to meet up for their run in the morning.

* * *

The next day Kara had not see Lee since they had ran that morning, until they flew CAP together. Kara was not kidding the night before when she said that she hoped Dee caught on as quick as Racetrack had about her and Lee. Kara had an idea just in case, she knew that Dee listened to the pilots during CAP, it was part of her job, so she decided to give her a little hint. " So Apollo are you going to take advantage of the new frat regs?"

Lee knew what Kara was doing " That depends, are you going to Starbuck?"

" Yeah, I already have my target picked out " Kara said as she laughed

" Really, do I know this somebody?" Lee said playing along

" Well he is new to the Galactica, but I think you know him, what about you Apollo who are you planning on seeing?" Starbuck asked him

" Someone that has been on the Galactica for about a year and she flies a viper "Lee said, knowing what he was doing

" That sounds like a match made in the skies " Kara bantered back even though she could not believe Lee just said that knowing she was the only female viper pilot, so much for just a hint.

" Would you two cut it out " Boomer said playfully

" Would you like us to talk about you and yours?" Starbuck bantered back

" No thank you Starbuck " Boomer answered

Apollo spoke up " Okay, why don't we all stop with the chit chat and finish this patrol "

" Aw nobody wants to play today " Starbuck said but she got quiet and let it go

The rest of the patrol was uneventful, then they landed. As soon as Kara finished her flight log Cally walked over " The new pilots are here "

Kara looked around and did not see anybody new " Where are they?"

Cally took the flight log from Starbuck " The commander sent them to an empty bunk room to get settled in "

Kara could see Lee headed her way " Thanks Cally, I'll see you later

As Cally turned she saw Apollo headed their way and knew why Starbuck had cut their conservation short " Hey Apollo " she said as she passed him

Lee just nodded as he kept his eyes on Kara trying to gauge her mood. He went and leaned against her viper waiting for her to speak and she did not disappoint " Lee are you crazy, now everyone will know about us, including your dad "

" Why do you think I did it?" he asked " Now not only will the flirting stop, but now you have no excuse to try and end whatever this is between us" Lee said waiting on her to blow up

Kara grinned instead " I suppose you have a point "

Lee reached up and pushed her hair back " Yeah, at least we don't have to worry about anybody bothering us anymore "

Kara backed up a step knowing they were close to a PDA " The new pilot recruits are here "

Lee noticed that Kara stepped back making him realize that they standing way to close to each other. " I will go and see them as soon as I finish up here "

" Good " Kara said " I do not want to see them till in the morning " she said trailing her fingers on his arm as she walked away

After Lee watched Kara leave he went to finish up on the deck before heading to his office to change.

* * *

After Lee changed his clothes he went to the bunk room where the new recruits were. He stepped through the hatch unnoticed at first because they were talking. He cleared his throat and they came to a somewhat attempt of standing at attention.

" At ease, I am Captain Adama and your CAG." before any one could speak he continued " After you settle in you need to familiarize yourselves with the ship and your are to report to the briefing room at 0600 first thing in the morning, any questions?"

The only female in the room asked " Will you be our instructor?"

" No, that will be Starbuck and I advice against being late " Lee felt he should warn them. After that he left them, hoping that Kara could turn them into pilots.

* * *

Kara was in the rec room playing cards when Lee walked in. She watched as he made his way to their table and as he sat down the other players looked back and forth between them. Kara knew that by now everyone had heard what was said during their CAP. Kara figured she needed to say something to break the silence " So Apollo I am glad you joined us, just get ready to lose your cubits to me "

" What makes you think that you will be the winner Starbuck?" Lee asked remembering the last time he played and what they had said about Kara hardly ever losing.

Kara could feel the tension ease at the table " Care to make a side wager on that?"

Lee looked at her and saw that she had that certain shit eating grin on her face " No, just deal the cards Starbuck "

They played a few hands with everyone talking back and forth " So did you get the nuggets settled in?"

When she spoke Lee had been looking at his cards trying to figure out whether to fold or not " Yes, and try not to scare them away before you even get started " Lee folded

Kara threw down her full colors hand and heard all the groans " Hey, I can't help it if you guys don't know how to play "

They played for a while longer until Kara and Lee were called for over the intercom telling them to report to the commanders office.

* * *

( Leave a comment)


	12. Chapter 12

A Different Beginning----Chapter 12

Mostly AU and it starts at the mini-series. I am writing this story solo so all mistakes are mine. I apologize in advance.

Chapter-------12

As Kara and Lee were on their way to the commanders office they started speculating as to why he wanted to see them. " Lee, do you think your dad was told about our comm conservation during CAP?"

" Maybe, or he just might want to know how many people we found for the pilot program " Lee said as he brushed his hand against hers.

Kara pulled Lee to a stop twenty feet from the commanders hatchway " What if he wants to know what is going on between us?"

Lee stepped close to her as someone passed them " Well since nothing has technically happened we don't have to tell him anything, unless you want to "

Kara thought about it for a second " No, I don't want to say anything yet, even though he changed the frat regs he might not be to happy to know about us, besides like you said technically nothing has happened "

Lee was disappointed she felt that way, but she had spent the last year with his dad so she might know best " Fine, we won't say anything...yet "

Kara squeezed his hand once and then pulled him along with her as she headed to the commanders office. They knocked and waited for him to tell them to enter. They both walked inside and stood at attention.

* * *

Adama who had been waiting on Kara and Lee looked up from his paperwork when he heard a knock on his hatch. He watched as they came in and stood at attention. " At ease and have a seat " Adama said as he headed to his small sitting room and sat down in his chair leaving the sofa for them to sit on.

After Kara and Lee sat they waited on Adama to start the conservation as they had no idea what the meeting was about.

Adama looked at them a moment before speaking. He had personal and professional reasons for calling them to his office and decided to start with the professional ones. " Lee, how many people were you able to find for the pilot program?"

Lee was glad when his father asked a work related question, maybe his father did not know about him and Kara. " I was only able to find three people, but Kara has come up with another solution "

Lee looked at Kara letting her know to tell what she had came up with " Sir, I thought we might pull some of the raptor pilots in and train them on vipers since we have enough raptor pilots "

Adama was hoping for more people, but Kara's idea seemed plausible " Do you really think that will work?"

" Yes sir, as you know Lee and I both know how to fly raptors so if there comes a time when we need more raptor pilots then we will be able to fill in, plus the ones that I train for vipers " Kara explained

Adama nodded his approval " Which raptor pilots did you have in mind?"

Lee decided to answer since he was the one that had okay-ed it " Crashdown, Pike and JoJo "

Adama stood up and headed for his liquor " Would the two of you like a drink?"

Kara knew then that he was not through with them " I still have maintenance work to do, but since you are offering I will have one "

Adama started pouring two drinks and then turned to look at Lee " What about you son?"

Lee knew this was going to turn personal and thought he might need liquid encouragement " Yes sir, I will have one also "

He poured one more drink and then took them theirs before going back for his. After that, he got his and sat back down not missing the look that passed between them.

After a minute of silence while they each drank he asked " So, is there any truth to the rumors about you two being romantically involved?"

Lee waited for Kara to answer since she was the one who did not want to tell him .

Kara knew that Lee would keep silent and wait on her to answer " No sir " she then took another swallow of her drink.

Adama did not know if he believed her since she gave such a short answer and did not laugh it off " I have noticed that the two of you have been spending a lot of time together "

Lee spoke up then " Well, you did assign Kara to help me until I learned who all of the pilots are and now we are trying to put together enough people for the viper training program "

Adama realized that must be where all the rumors was coming from " Well that is good to know " he said as he finished off his drink.

Kara was not surprised by what he said, but Lee was " Would it have been a problem if it were true about me and Kara?"

Kara jerked and looked at Lee, surprised by what he had asked and Adama simply looked at Lee and Kara for a moment before answering "I know that we changed the frat regs, but you and Kara work more closely together than anyone else, so yeah I can see where it might cause problems " Adama paused a moment before continuing " Since the rumors are not true then it makes your question irrelevant "

Even though Kara knew Adama might not approve she was still stunned by his answer so she finished her drink in one gulp and placed it on the table in front of her and looked over at Lee. She could tell he was not happy at all.

Lee was not willing to let it go yet. " You know dad there may come a time when Kara and I are not as busy and we might decide to start dating "

Adama thought Lee was speaking of other people " I expect so, Kara you have been on this ship for over a year so you probably have already become close with someone " Adama said teasing her " Lee I think there is already someone after you " he said chuckling

Lee then finished his drink and sat it down with a loud thump. Could his dad not really understand what he meant about him and Kara. Silence hung heavy in the air.

Adama not realizing that there was tension in the room continued speaking " You know Lee I heard another rumor that Petty Officer Dualla from the CIC might be interested in you "

Kara tensed up when he said that. Did the old man really think that Lee should start seeing Dee. Then for the first time Kara thought that even though her and Adama were close he might not think she was good enough for his son. Kara stood up abruptly after having that thought " If that is all sir, I need to be going "

Lee knew Kara was upset and he was not sure if it was with him or his dad. Before she could leave he heard his dad start speaking again.

Adama was not sure why Kara was in such a hurry, but he was not finished " Sit back down Kara, I wanted to ask you about the cylon raider. "

Kara took a deep breath and sat back down a little farther from Lee this time. " What would you like to know, sir?"

Adama could feel the tension coming off of Kara, but did not comment on it. " What have you figured out so far?"

Kara answered in an even tone " The chief and I have repaired the outside and gutted the inside of it "

Adama felt like he had to carry the conservation " And what are your overall plans for it?"

Kara was ready to leave so she answered as simply as she could " To make it fly worthy "

" That sounds good, how long before you think it will be ready?" Adama asked after looking at Lee and seeing that he was just as tense as Kara.

Kara stood up again " I am not sure sir, now if you don't mind I really need to go "

Adama stood up " That will be all, but keep me informed as to the pilots training and on the raider "

Kara nodded and slipped out the door as fast as she could.

By this time Lee had also stood. He needed to go after Kara. " I need to go also "

" Wait a minute Lee, I still want to talk to you about something " Adama said as he sat back down.

Lee knew he could not get into it with his dad about him and Kara without first speaking to her so he sat down. " What is it?"

" I wanted to see how you are settling in with being the CAG" Adama asked him wondering why Lee still seemed anxious.

" It is going okay, Kara has been a big help " Lee told him wishing he would hurry up.

Adama chuckled " I knew she would be able to help you and I am glad to see the two of you getting along "

Lee could not help but ask his dad about Kara, seeing how close they are to each other " So, you would be okay with Kara seeing someone?"

Adama thought that was a silly question " Of course, but I want it to be with someone worthy of her, after all she is like a daughter to me "

That was what Lee did not understand. How come his dad thought that him and Kara seeing each other would cause problems? Did his dad not think that he was good enough for Kara? These were questions Lee wanted answers to. Before he could say anything else his dad started speaking again.

Adama waited for Lee to say something and when he did not he spoke. " Lee, I really think you would like Dualla if you got to know her unless you already have someone in mind "

Lee really needed to talk to Kara, it seems they might have made a mistake by denying there was anything between them. " I am too busy right now to even think about dating "

" Okay and I know Kara is too, but keep an eye on her I don't want her taken advantage of " Adama said and then asked " Has there been any problems with the pilots or the deck crew since we changed the frat regs?"

Lee scooted to the edge of the sofa getting ready to leave " There has not been any time, the deaths from the cylon raider crashing onto the flight deck has been on every ones mind "

Adama's mood changed as soon as Lee brought up the hangar incident " Of course " he saw Lee sitting on the edge of the sofa and decided to end their conservation " It looks like you have somewhere to be, so I won't keep you any longer " Adama then stood

Lee stood and headed to the hatchway " Goodbye " and he went out the hatch as fast as he could without letting letting his dad know how big of a hurry he was really in.

* * *

When Kara left Adama's office she did not go to work, instead she headed to the walkway above the hangar deck. She needed to think and she knew that Lee did not know about that place yet. When Kara got there she sat down far enough back so that if anyone looked up they would not see her. Kara could not help but believe that Adama thought she was not good enough for Lee, since he seemed intent on getting Lee and Dualla together. That kind of thinking led Kara herself to believe that Dualla was the kind of woman Lee needed, especially since she already had the commanders approval.

Kara thought back on all the times her and Lee had been close and while she wanted to believe that Lee was interested in her Adama had put doubts in her, plus since her and Lee spent so much time together he had not had the chance to get to know other people. Kara knew then that she would have to stop whatever was happening between her and Lee for his benefit. As much as it hurt her she knew that would be the right thing to do. Since she had it all worked out in her mind she got up and headed down to the hangar, as soon as she got there she picked a viper and went to work hoping to take her mind off of Lee.

* * *

As soon as Lee left his dads office he headed to the hangar deck to find Kara. Lee knew that he had not known Kara for long, but he knew that she was upset, he just was not sure about what. Lee had this strange feeling that things had changed for him and Kara. The more he thought about it the quicker he walked hoping to get the chance to talk to her.

Lee stopped when he reached the hangar bay and looked around for Kara. At first he did not see her then he spotted her under a viper, he walked up to the viper and squatted down so that he could see most of her. " Kara could you come out from under there so we can talk?"

This was what Kara had been dreading , so in an even voice she spoke " Not now Lee I really need to get this viper fixed "

" Come on Kara, you and I both know you can finish that later " Lee practically begged

Kara answered keeping her voice low " I have other stuff to do later, I promise we will talk when I have time " she said hoping he would let it go.

Lee knew then that no matter what he said she was not going to talk to him now " Fine Kara, but we are going to talk later " he stood up and after another minute of standing there walked off.

Kara stopped what she was doing as soon as he left and tried to calm herself down. After a couple of deep breaths she went back to work. While she was working the chief came by and asked if she wanted to work on the raider. Kara told him she did, because she still was not ready to see Lee.

* * *

When Kara made it to the area where they were keeping the raider she saw that the chief was already there. " So, what do you want to do first Chief?"

Since they were both still on duty the chief wanted to work on the raider for the rest of their shift. " Why don't you crawl inside and see what kind of controls we might need "

Kara was more than happy to work, she desperately needed to keep her mind occupied so she crawled inside the raider. " My gods it still smells in here " she hollered

" I will have one of the deck crew try to find something to wipe it down with and see if that helps with the smell " the chief yelled back

Kara got settled inside by laying on her stomach " Okay Chief I am going to try a few things out, just keep an eye out because I have no idea what I am doing "

Even though she had torn the guts out there was still gooey stringy things, she reached up and squeezed one of the tendrils and the raider rocked side to side " Well I guess that must control the wing flaps " she yelled

The chief had jumped back when the raider jerked " Let me know before you touch anything else, I would like time to get out of the way "

" All right here I go with something else " she yelled and after a second she squeezed another tendril and the raider lurched forward, she quickly let go. She tried to look behind her where her feet were and could just barely make out what looked like a peddle. Kara yelled to the chief to step back and pushed on the peddle and the raider started firing. Okay that startled the frak out of her, she was not sure she should continue, but there was one more peddle so she touched it lightly with her foot and the raider hovered up for just a moment before she stopped. She looked around trying to find out if there was some way of getting oxygen inside this thing. Kara saw several hose like things and started pulling them off. The second one she pulled had oxygen blowing out of it. She then climbed out and went to stand by the chief.

" Well that was fun " Kara said as she wiped sweat off of her face.

The Chief could not believe how much they had learned today. " Wow, you know I think we just might be able to get this thing to fly "

Kara stood beside the chief beaming " I know, isn't it great."

The chief could not help but smile too " I will get someone to clean the inside of it before you get back in it "

Kara gave one last long look at the raider " Thanks chief I will see you tomorrow "

The chief stopped her before she could walk off " Are you going to let the commander know about what we discovered today?"

Frak Kara thought, now she had Lee back on her mind " Why don't you let him know, I am going to take a shower "

The chief was puzzled as to why Starbuck wanted him to tell the commander, but he was not going to ask her why " I'll let him know "

Kara nodded then walked away heading to the showers.

* * *

After Lee had left Kara working on the viper he went to run down the three raptor pilots to let them know that they would start training in the morning on vipers. He talked to each of them separately and only Pike seemed to have a problem with who would be training him. He let Lee know that he was not happy with having Starbuck as his instructor. Lee had let him know that if he caused any problems he would be put on report.

Lee went to his office to do paperwork while he waited on Kara. After two hours he realized that Kara had no intention of talking to him. He left his office in search of her and each place he looked she was not there. Lee finally ran into the chief who told him they had worked on the raider and Starbuck had gone to take a shower. Lee knew better than to corner her in the showers, there would be other people around so he went back to his office. When he laid down on the couch he meant only to nap, but woke four hours later.

After getting up Lee walked down to the bunk room and went inside. He found Kara's curtain closed and knew she had turned in for the night. Lee did not want to wake her so he left with the intent of talking to her tomorrow.

* * *

Kara had to take several showers again trying to get the smell of the raider off her. After getting dressed she went to eat and then returned to her bunk room. She knew she was avoiding Lee, but she did not feel like talking to him so she went to bed instead of playing cards. Kara knew she had a briefing with the new pilots first thing in the morning so she tried to sleep. It was a long time before she could fall asleep, as her thoughts were on her, Lee and Adama. Kara knew the commander cared about her, but she knew that he could not see her and Lee together.

She woke up the next morning after barely getting any sleep. She dressed and made her wake to the briefing room hoping that she would not run into Lee. Kara made it to the room twenty minutes before her scheduled meeting, so she took a seat trying to focus on her lesson plan. Soon her thoughts drifted to the first time she laid eyes on Lee, it had been in this room. She could not believe it had only been about seven weeks ago. Finally she stood up and walked to the front of the room and stood behind the podium. Shaking her thoughts of Lee away as people started coming in.

Kara knew there would only be six people training to fly vipers and she needed to make sure they all passed. She waited till everybody was there and looked down at her watch and noticed that everyone had made it on time.

Kara cleared her throat " For those of you who don't know, my name is Lt. Thrace, but you can call me Starbuck or God " she paused " For the new people you will have three raptor pilots joining you, they are Crashdown, JoJo and Pike"

Kara waited while the new nuggets looked around at the other three pilots " I will be issuing call signs to each of you when I see fit to do so "

" Now I know that while you guys already know how to fly raptors I warn you that a viper is in no way comparable to a raptor " she said addressing the raptor pilots " So you three will be starting from scratch just like the nuggets "

Kara looked around the room at each of them " Now if there are no questions we will begin "

After four hours of going over all the instruments of a viper and all the do and don'ts Kara got ready to end the class after issuing call signs to the nuggets. From now on they would be called Kat, Chuckles and Hotdog. " That is it for today, same time tomorrow "

Kara watched as they filed out and then she started to panic. She had seen Lee look in on her class and knew he would be waiting for her outside the hatch.

* * *

When Lee got up this morning he got ready for his morning run. He thought that Kara would not miss their run, but after waiting for thirty minutes he knew she had no intention of running. Lee ran two extra laps than normal trying to run off that bad feeling he had ever since leaving his father's office.

After running he showered than ate breakfast before going by the briefing room where Kara was teaching. He stepped inside quietly and listened for a few minutes and watched Kara. Lee knew that she would be a good instructor, he just hoped they did not give her too much trouble. Lee thought she had glanced his way once, but he could not be sure.

Lee stepped back outside and waited. He knew her class would be ending soon and they were going to talk. He stood to the side as everyone came out. He knew the nuggets would be excited but he did not expect the raptor pilots excitement. After ten minutes Kara finally came out the hatch and Lee stepped in front of her. " Kara, I know you are avoiding me, but we need to talk "

Kara could not bring herself to look Lee in the eyes so she looked past him. " Fine Lee, where do you want to talk?"

Lee stepped to the side " My office " and he started walking with Kara falling in beside him.

As soon as they entered Kara went and sat down in the extra chair at his desk " So talk "

Now that they were here Lee did not know where to start. " Kara what upset you in dads office yesterday?"

Kara still would not look directly at him " I'm not sure what you mean "

Lee formed his thoughts before he spoke " Okay, how about I tell you what I think?"

Kara chanced a quick look at him " Fine "

Lee reached across the desk to grab her hand, but she pulled it back away from him " I think we made a mistake in not telling dad about us "

" I don't " Kara told him

Lee had to stop himself from yelling at her " What do you mean?"

Kara knew a short comment would not work this time " Think about it Lee, you have not had the chance to get to know other people since we have had to spend so much time together, so I think you need to take the time to do so "

Lee shut his eyes a moment then opened them and looked directly at her " What are you saying Kara?"

Kara steeled herself to say the words that she did not really want to say " " I am ending whatever this was between us "

This time there was no way that he was not going to yell, he jumped up and placed his hands on the desk and leaned forward until he was almost in her face " I am not going to let you end us "

Kara knew that she had to finish this, so she stood up " You can't stop me " and turned to walk out.

Lee ran around the desk and grabbed her arm pulling her around to face him " Kara, please don't do this "

Kara looked at him then " I am sorry Lee, it is better to end it now rather than later "

Lee took her hand " Kara, who says we have to end this?"

Kara jerked her hand away " The commander does not think it would be a good thing and neither do I anymore "

" My father has no say in who I want to see and why have you changed your mind all of a sudden " he shouted

Kara looked at him one last time " We are still friends and co- workers Lee, that will have to be enough " then she walked out.

Lee stood there in shock for a second before going over to his desk and sweeping everything off of it in a fit of rage.

* * *

As soon as Kara left Lee she headed to the gym. She knew that if she did not do something immediately she would fall apart. After taping her hands she lit into the punching bag and for thirty minutes she hit the bag so often and so hard that by the time she finished her hands were swollen. As she sat there on the floor trying to catch her breath she wondered what to do next. Finally after her breathing evened out she got up and removed the tape from her hands. Having done that she headed to the hangar bay to work, which was hard with her hands the way they were.

Kara worked on vipers anyway until it was time to get changed for CAP. At least she would be flying for the next four hours and then she could shower and climb into her cot until tomorrow and then she would start the whole day over again, minus Lee. What Kara had forgot was that Lee would also be flying CAP. She did not know how Lee felt because he only spoke when he had to and he never spoke directly to her. For that Kara was glad because she had nothing to say, it was the quietest CAP she had ever flown. As soon as they landed she jumped out of her viper and finished her checklist with Cally and then got out of there as fast as she could. She headed to the showers and then to bed skipping dinner.

* * *

After Kara left and his office was torn apart Lee sat down and stared at nothing trying to figure out why Kara had done what she did. Lee was as upset with her as he was his father. Lee knew that Kara had called things off between them partly because of his dad. He still was not sure why his dad thought him and Kara would be a bad idea. Was it because he was not good enough for her and did Kara think the same thing, that she was not good enough for him. Lee stayed in his office until it was time for CAP. Being out there with Kara and not being able to talk to her was hard. Lee could not wait for this day to end.

After he landed he sat in his viper so he could watch Kara as she went through her checklist, and then she almost ran out of there. Lee knew Kara was wrong, he did not need to get to know other people to know that she was the one he wanted to be with. After she left he got out of his viper and as soon as he was through he headed back to his office ignoring people along the way. When he entered he was reminded of everything all over again, his office was a mess. He slowly started cleaning it up just to have something to do. After he finished he took a shower and started doing paperwork. Lee decided he would give her a few days and then try to talk to her again. He fell asleep thinking of Kara.

* * *

When Kara woke up her thoughts immediately went to Lee. She had missed being able to run, but she did not want to take a chance of running into Lee. Kara wondered if he was running and then quickly started thinking about class just so she could not think of him. Kara got dressed and went for breakfast since she had skipped dinner the night before. She sat down at a table far away from the rest of the crowd, she was in no mood for chit chat. Apparently Duck decided he wanted to sit with her and then invited her to a game tonight. Kara figured she might as well try to get back into the swing of things and told him she would be there. At the very least she could get drunk. She finished eating and left for the CIC before her class. On her way out she passed Lee coming in and aside from nodding at each other they did not utter a sound. Kara figured she must have really pissed him off.

When Lee woke up the next morning he decided to skip running, without Kara it was not as much fun. He dressed quickly and left for the mess to get some breakfast. Just as he was going in he saw Kara coming out. He wanted to speak to her, but felt it was too soon so he nodded and walked on by. Since he was not in the mood to be bothered he sat by himself hoping no one bothered him. Lee really wanted to talk to his dad, but knew that he would have to wait until he talked to Kara first. He did not have a busy day today, he had a CIC shift after breakfast then a four hour CAP and nothing to do after that. Lee had no idea what he was going to do after that, when he was around Kara it seemed like he always had something to do. He finished his breakfast and headed to the CIC.

* * *

As he was on his way to the CIC he looked at his watch and realized he would be early. Well he had nothing else to do, so he headed there. As soon as he entered his father motioned him over.

Adama watched as Lee came toward him, somehow he seemed different. " Captain, you are early "

All Lee had to say was " Yes sir "

Adama looked at him closely wanting to know what was wrong, but knew better than to ask " I heard you had a quiet CAP yesterday "

Again all Lee said was " Yes sir "

Adama figured he did not want to talk about it so he changed the subject " How is the pilot training going, I have not seen Starbuck to ask her?"

Lee looked up at him then " Neither have I "

" Don't you two ever take time off?" Adama asked him while looking over a report Gaeta had handed him.

" There is to much work to be done " he answered while glancing around the CIC.

Adama had an idea " Why don't you come to dinner tonight?"

Lee thought about it for a second and knew that it would help kill the time " Sure I'll be there "

Adama handed the report back to Gaeta " Good, I will see you around seven then "

Lee nodded as his father walked away, he was going off shift.

The CIC was boring Lee thought as he looked around and then he saw that Dualla was glancing his way. He smiled politely before looking away to listen in on the refueling that was happening. Lee wondered how Kara's class was going, he knew that she planned on taking them out tomorrow. Lee wished he could stop thinking about her, but he couldn't. After three hours he was finally free to leave the CIC, so he headed down to the flight deck to wait on CAP.

Lee never saw Kara enter the hangar bay and it was almost time for CAP, he wondered where she was. It was not until they had launched that he found out that Kara had switched her CAP with Keeper. Even though it was supposed to go through him he knew that she would have gone through Colonel Tigh to change it up. He hoped she had a reason for changing her CAP and it was not just because she did not want to fly with him. Lee knew that as soon as he landed she would be launching and it would be tomorrow before he saw her again. He could do nothing about it now so he settled in for a four hour CAP.

* * *

As soon as Kara passed Lee on his way into the mess she headed for the CIC to change her CAP. She had run into Keeper the night before in the showers and had asked him to change with her. It was not that she did not love to fly with Lee it was because it was to hard. She knew they would have to talk eventually, but she was trying to postpone it as long as she could. This way she could fly a late afternoon CAP and then hit the rec room for a few hands of cards and lots to drink. Then when she would go to bed and hopefully she would be too tired and drunk to think about Lee.

After her class was over she went up to the walkway above the flight deck so she could watch Lee as he got into his viper. She might not want to talk to him, but she needed to be able to look at him. So she stood up there and watched him and when she saw him looking around, she wondered if he was looking for her. Kara had been avoiding Adama also, she just really did not want to see him. Kara still could not help but think that he might not think she was good enough for his son. As soon as Lee launched she sat down and let her mind wonder over the last several weeks.

While Lee was on CAP Kara used his office to write up a report about the pilots in her class. Even though they were not talking she knew that he needed to know how the pilots were doing. Then she left him a memo letting him know that she would be taking them out into space tomorrow. After that she wrote a similar report for Adama so she would not have to talk to him either. Kara knew that she was acting childish and that the commander would have no idea what was wrong with her. After she finished, she left Lee's report on his desk and took Adama's with her.

Kara headed to the CIC, she knew that Colonel Tigh would still be on duty. As she walked in she could not help but notice Dee, she knew that she was listening to Apollo on CAP. Kara walked over to Tigh " Colonel could you make sure that the commander gets this report?"

After Tigh looked at her he reached and took the report from her. " Is this about the new viper pilots?"

" Yes " Kara said as she stood there hoping she could leave soon.

It seemed like Tigh felt like talking " How are they doing?"

Kara looked around the CIC to keep from looking at him " I am a little worried about the nuggets but the raptor pilots are catching on faster than I thought they would "

" That's good to hear, I will make sure the commander gets this "and he turned away to tend to something.

Kara left while he was busy, she had already stayed longer than she planned on. As she was leaving she heard Dee talking " How is it going out there Apollo?"

Kara knew she had no valid reason for asking Lee that, it was just her way of flirting with him. After glaring a hole in Dee's back she left the CIC. Kara went down to the hangar deck to get ready for her patrol.

* * *

After Lee finished his CAP he landed. As soon as he finished up with his checklist he went to the pilots briefing room to listen in on CAP. He knew that Kara was the flight leader out there and he wanted to hear her voice. Lee soon realized that Kara did not have much to say other than what she had to as patrol leader. He listened a while longer and then left for his office.

When Lee got to his office the first thing he did was take a shower. Lee finished getting dressed and went to his desk to see if there was any new memos for him. He still had a couple of hours before he had to be at his dads for dinner. As he sat down he grabbed the memo that was sitting in the center of his desk. It was from Kara letting him know the progress of her class. Lee did not know how much more of the silent treatment he could take from Kara.

As he was going over the flight roster he heard the sirens go off and thinking that it was the cylons he rushed down to the hangar deck. Once there he was told that a bomb had gone off on the C deck. Lee headed to a phone to call up to the CIC, he was told by Gaeta that a cylon had got past Galactica security and blown himself up along with the bomb. Lee headed up there and saw his father talking to the marines and went over to talk to him.

Adama finished with the marines and turned to talk to Lee who had walked up " No one was hurt, but someone recognized the bomber as Doral, that was the reporter that had been taking pictures during the decommissioning ceremony "

Lee was stunned that someone had slipped past their security " So you think he was a cylon?"

Adama nodded his head " Yes I do, and now we know the identity of another cylon "

Adama motioned for Lee to walk with him " I need to go over a few things, but I will see you at dinner "

Lee stopped when they came to an intersection " Okay, I am going down to the hangar deck and let the chief know what is going on because I am sure there will be a lot of questions "

Adama nodded and walked off leaving Lee to handle things with his pilots.

* * *

When Kara finished her patrol and landed she heard the news about what had happened on C deck. As soon as she found out that no one was hurt she headed for the showers. Afterwards she went through her locker picking out a few things to bet with at the card game.

After she sat down at the table the first thing she did was pour herself a drink. She then looked around the table to see who would be playing. She saw that Duck, Racetrack, Ripper and Pike would be playing. Seeing Racetrack reminded her of Lee, even though she knew that Racetrack had backed off because she thought her and Lee had something going on. Kara felt it only fair to let her know that her and Lee were just friends.

Kara played a few hands listening to the players talking back and forth with each other and after a few drinks she decided to let the table know, so that there would be no more gossip about her and Lee. " Have you guys heard, Apollo is a free man now, so if any of you guys or gals want a shot at him now is the time " she said chuckling.

Everyone at the table had heard about the CAP where Apollo and Starbuck had hinted about them being an item, so it was a surprise what Starbuck had said. Duck was the only one brave enough to ask " What happened, I thought you guys were an item, I mean the two of you spend a lot of time together "

Kara downed the drink she had before slapping the glass back on the table " We decided it was a mistake and really it was not much of anything to began with "

Kara saw that Racetrack was trying to keep a smile off her face and the rest of the pilots just shrugged and got back to their cards. Kara poured herself another drink and got back to taking most of the pots. After a few more drinks she had quit thinking about Lee and started loosening up. Kara found herself enjoying the card game and after everyone run out of cubits except her, they changed the game to personal items. By the time the game was over Kara had won a much needed bottle of shampoo and a few razors, and she realized how drunk she was when she tried to stand up and stumbled. Duck ended up helping her to her bunk where she fell into bed with all her clothes on and passed out.

* * *

While Kara was playing cards Lee was with his father. He had gone a few minutes early wanting to talk about the cylon who had blown up a bomb on C deck. After they sat down and they each had a drink Lee had to ask again " Are you sure that he was a cylon?"

Adama finished swallowing before answering " Yes we are sure and luckily there was no major damage "

Lee thought about the other cylon and remembered something he had been meaning to ask " Can you tell me about the Leobon model and what he has to do with Kara?"

Adama thought about telling him then remembered telling Kara that he would not say anything " It is not my place to tell you, ask Kara she may tell you "

Lee mumbled " I doubt that "

Adama put his glass down " Lee, have you noticed anything different about Kara?"

Lee looked away from his dad and focused on a spot behind him, he did not want to discuss Kara with his dad " No, not really, why?"

Adama sighed " Kara wrote out a report about her class and gave it to Tigh to give to me, it seems like she is avoiding me "

Lee took a swallow of his drink " Maybe she is just busy "

Adama shook hid head " No there is more to it than that, anyway to change the subject I have a surprise for you "

Lee looked at his father wondering what he was up to " What kind of surprise?"

Adama smiled " I have invited someone to join us for dinner "

Before Lee could ask who there was a knock on the hatch " Here they are now " Adama said as he got up to open the hatch

Lee was absolutely stunned to see Dualla walking into the room and she had a dress on. It took everything Lee had not to jump all over his father for what he had set up. Lee looked past her and saw that his dad was smiling like he had done this great thing. Lee sat there speechless while they took their seat.

* * *

(leave a comment)


	13. Chapter 13

A Different Beginning----Chapter 13

Mostly AU and it begins with the mini-series. Also I am writing this solo and I apologize for any mistakes.

Chapter-----13

After Adama and Dualla had sat down Adama looked over at Lee who was sitting on his right. Adama thought Lee would be glad that Dualla was joining them for dinner, but he did not look to happy. Then Adama looked to the left of him and saw that Dualla was nervous and would not look at Lee. Well this was awkward thought Adama. " Dualla I am so glad you could join us "

She looked at Adama then " Please call me Dee and I am glad that you invited me "

" Well Dee " Adama said " I hope with you here we can talk about things other than work, right Lee " he said trying to get Lee to say something

Lee responded without looking at either of them " I guess so "

Adama was about to say something else when there was a knock on the hatch and then their dinner was brought in.

After they had each taken several bites Adama tried again to get Lee to talk " So Lee did you know that the Colonial Day Dance will be coming up soon?"

Lee looked at his father wondering what he was up to now "I have not thought about it "

Dee spoke up then " I have and I think it will give everybody a chance to relax and think about something other than the cylons " she finished and looked at Lee

" We need to worry about surviving before we can start thinking that far ahead " Lee said quietly

Adama looked over at his son " I always thought you were an optimist Lee "

Lee glared at his dad " Not anymore, there is nothing left to look forward to " without Kara he thought

" Gods you sound so morbid Apollo " Dee said taking a chance and looking directly at him

Adama spoke up " I agree and Dee I am sure that Lee would not mind you calling him by his name instead of his call sign, after all we are off duty "

Dee looked at Lee and at his nod she said " Thanks and you can call me Dee whenever you want "

Lee did not respond, instead he resumed eating without looking at either of them.

Dee had been happy when the commander had invited her to dinner with him and Lee. She knew that there must not be anything between him and Starbuck otherwise she would be here. She had thought briefly about starting something with Billy when she thought Apollo was no longer available. Now she wanted to see if there could be anything between her and Lee.

Dee tried to strike up a conservation with Lee " How did you like being stationed on the Atlantia?"

Lee was surprised by the question and found himself answering her " I liked it and I liked Admiral Nagala "

Adama spoke up " Lee did you know that Nagala and I were old friends?"

" No, we did not discuss personal things " Lee answered, even though he was still upset with his father

" Did you know that Dee has been on the Galactica about a year and a half?" Adama asked after taking a drink of water

" No " Lee answered as he pushed his plate back, he was ready to get out of there. He could only imagine what Kara would think about Dee eating dinner with him and his dad.

Adama knew something was bothering Lee and had been for a couple of days. " Would anybody care for dessert, I had one of Kara's favorite desserts prepared?"

Lee and Dee both looked at Adama surprised that he would bring Kara's name up.

" Why would you do that, when you knew she would not be here?" Lee asked harshly

Adama could not understand Lee's outburst " I happen to like it and thought that the two of you might like it also "

" I don't want any " Lee said a bit antagonistic

After seeing and hearing how Lee felt about it Dee said " No thanks " and decided she should leave " I have to be going, I have an early shift, but thank you again for inviting me Commander "

Adama stood up after Dee did " Your welcome, maybe we can do this again "

" I would like that " Dee said looking at Lee

Adama did not miss the way Dee looked at Lee " Lee, why don't you walk Dee back to her bunk room?" he thought that maybe if they were alone without him that Lee might open up more with Dee and then maybe he would have something to do besides working all the time. Adama thought they made a nice couple and if this worked out he might try to fix Kara up with someone. He wanted both Lee and Kara to be happy.

Lee could not believe what his father was trying to do and now he had put him on the spot "Sure, let's go Dee " the sooner he got this over with the sooner he could climb into his bed and think about Kara.

Lee left without telling his father good-bye, but Dee did " Good-bye Commander " and then she walked out of the hatchway with Lee.

After they left Adama found himself smiling thinking that he had done Lee a huge favor.

* * *

As Lee was walking Dee back to her quarters he was hoping they would not pass anyone. As luck would have it the last corner they turned they ran into Pike. Lee knew that he would find a way of letting Kara know because he was in her class and he did not seem to like Kara very much. As Lee thoughts had been on Kara and Pike he did not notice that they had made it to Dee's bunk room until she stopped. Lee was intending on leaving now that she was back at her room, but before he knew it she had leaned close to him and kissed him. Lee was so stunned that it took him a moment before he pulled back and stepped away from her.

Dee started blushing, she was afraid that Lee might think she had been to forward. " I am sorry I should not have done that "

Lee felt bad " It's all right, you just caught me off guard "

Dee had to ask him about Starbuck " Do you and Starbuck still have something going on?"

Lee knew that he was not going to try and explain his and Kara's complicated situation " Not anymore " he said sadly

" Good " Dee said " Well goodnight Lee and thank you for walking me back "

" Sure " Lee said turning to leave before she had even got the hatch closed. Lee walked back to his office wondering if Kara would even care, seeing as she was the one who had called off things between them. Something he still did not fully understand. Lee thought about going back to his fathers office to let him know to stay out of his personal life, but decided he was to emotionally drained to even do that. All he wanted to do was crawl into bed and think about Kara until he fell asleep.

* * *

Kara woke up the next morning with one of the worst hangovers she had in a long time. Once she woke up fully she started remembering bits and pieces from last night. Had she really told everyone about her and Lee? She kind of remembered Duck walking her back to the bunk room and after that she must have passed out. She hoped Lee did not here about it and then thought why should she care what he thought. Kara knew she would have to push the nuggets flight test back till this afternoon, she was in no shape to do it this morning. After taking a shower and getting dressed she went to eat hoping it would make her feel better.

Kara thanked the gods that she was able to eat without anyone bothering her. After she finished up she headed to the pilots room, but not before she ran into Adama. Kara had no choice but to stop when she saw that he wanted to speak to her.

Adama was glad he had ran into Kara " Hey Starbuck, why haven't I seen you lately?"

Kara answered without looking at him " I have been busy sir "

Adama chuckled " I told Lee that you and him work to much "

" Somebody has to do it " Kara said while fidgeting

Adama looked at her closely " Kara, are you feeling okay?"

"I'm fine sir, but I really need to be going I have class starting soon " Kara started to walk away

Adama stopped her " Why don't we have dinner together one night later in the week?"

" I'll try, but I can't promise " then she walked off before he could say anything else

By the time she made it to class she was feeling worse than when she woke up. She noticed that she was late because everyone was there and had been waiting on her " Something has come up so I am rescheduling the fly time to this afternoon. Meet me on the hangar deck at two o'clock, dismissed "

Kara waited until they had all left then sat down in one of the chairs. She blamed herself, she should have known better than to get drunk the night before the nuggets took to the air for the first time. Now all she needed was for the CAG to find out and start yelling at her. Kara decided to head back to her bunk and lie down, maybe he would not bother her there.

Instead of making it to her bunk she ended up rushing into the bathroom to throw up her breakfast and most of the booze she had drank last night. As she sat there on the floor she heard two people enter the bathroom, she pulled the stall door closed so they would not see her. As she leaned her head back against the wall she heard them start talking.

As soon as Dee and Gaeta made it into the bathroom Dee looked around and did not see anyone " You will never guess what I did last night Gaeta "

Gaeta smiled at how excited Dee was " Well, what did you do?"

Dee grinned " I had dinner with the Commander and Lee "

" You did!! " Gaeta exclaimed

" Yes and then Lee walked me back to my bunk room " she said still excited

" I thought Starbuck and Apollo were together " Gaeta said wondering what happened to them

Dee smiled again " Not anymore "

Kara who had been listening tuned the rest of it out. She would have thrown up again if she had anything left in her stomach. Apparently Lee had already forgotten about her, and Adama had gotten what he wanted, Lee with Dee. Kara sat there and let the tears run silently down her face not bothering to wipe them off. After a while she realized that Dee and Gaeta had left so she got up to wash her face. After Kara cleaned herself up she knew that from now on she would just be Starbuck, there would be no more Kara.

* * *

When Lee woke up he laid there thinking about last night. Somehow he was going to have to get Kara to change her mind about them. He missed her and everything that they used to do together. Lee knew Kara would find out about last night and he also knew how hard it would be to convince her that nothing had happened. He got up and dressed determined that by the end of the day he would have her at least willing to listen to him.

Lee knew that he had a shift in the CIC this morning, but after that he would track her down. As soon as he walked into the CIC he saw Dee looking at him and smiling. All he could do was smile back, he knew this was not her fault. As the shift went on he started tiring of the fact that Dee kept looking at him, did she think that there was something between them, he hoped not.

Colonel Tigh had walked over to stand next to him " I thought Starbuck was taking the nuggets up this morning "

Lee looked at his watch and realized he was right " Something probably came up, I'm sure she will do it later " Lee knew no such thing but he did not want to see Kara get in trouble, especially with Tigh.

After his shift was over he went in search of Kara. She was not in the briefing room or her bunk room, he then went to the hangar deck and did not see her there either. He walked over to the chief and waited for him to finish speaking to one of the deck crew.

As soon as the chief finished he looked at Apollo " Is there something you need Apollo?"

Lee folded his arms across his chest " I'm hoping you could tell me where Starbuck is "

The chief chuckled " She is with the raider, she works on it as often as she can "

" Thanks Chief " Lee said walking away heading to the area where they kept the raider.

When he got there he did not see her, so he stooped down to look underneath and saw her legs sticking out of it. For a moment he just stayed there and listened to her work, every now and then she would curse the raider, after a while he called out to her " Kara can you come out here, I need to talk to you "

Kara froze when she heard Lee, she did not even hear him come up. " I can't right now, it is to hard getting in and out of this thing "

Lee knew she was hoping he would give up and leave " Fine, I'll just wait until you finish "

Frak it Kara thought, she put her tools down and slipped out of the raider and stood to face him " What is it that you want Captain?"

Lee was hoping he would catch her in a good mood, instead she seemed pissed off " Why are the nuggets not in the air?"

Kara placed her hands on her hips " I rescheduled it for this afternoon, sir "

Lee relaxed his stance " Come on Kara, what is with you calling me Captain instead of Lee or Apollo?"

Kara spoke very slowly " Because you are my boss and we are not flying right now "

Lee decided to just get to the point " Kara I want to talk about us "

Kara took a deep breath " There is no us "

Lee reached for one of her hands, but she pulled it back away from him " I miss you Kara, and I think we should tell dad about us, I don't know how much longer I can go on like this "

Kara balled her fists up " If I'm not mistaken you seem to be doing just fine, considering you had a dinner date with Dee last night "

Lee took a step closer to her " Kara it was not what you think, dad set the whole thing up, I had no idea "

Kara took two steps back " Really, and did he make you walk her back to her room too?"

Lee sighed " In a way he set that up too "

" Things seem to be working out for you and your dad, so why don't you just stick with that and forget about us, because I have " Kara finished and turned to go back to work

" Kara please " Lee begged

Kara spun around to face him and yelled " Let it go, it will never work out between us, so stick to women your father approves of and everybody can be happy " then instead of going back to work on the raider she stormed off before he had a chance to say anything else.

* * *

After Kara walked away Lee sat down next to the raider and hung his head in defeat. He didn't think it would be this hard to get through to Kara, if only he could figure out what happened the day they met with his dad. He kept thinking back over it trying to remember if it was something he or his dad had said. What had she meant by saying that he should stick to women his dad approved of. She knew how much his dad cared about her. He decided no matter what she said he was not giving up on them. Finally he got up because it was almost time for CAP, another one without Kara he thought.

Kara met her nuggets on the flight deck one hour after Lee had launched for CAP. She knew that he would keep the CAP away from her nuggets. As soon as she had gone over everything with them and got them into their vipers she got into hers and they launched. Once she made sure that Pike, Crashdown and JoJo were okay she took the nuggets through a few maneuvers. She had to admit they were doing better than she thought they would, especally for their first time in space.

Kara then paired up JoJo and Chuckles followed by Crashdown and Kat then ending with Pike and Hotdog. She wanted to see how they would do flying with a designated wing man. She then put them through several maneuvers and set up situations where they would need to rely on each other. After two hours of training she knew it was now time for the biggest test of all, landing. She sent them back to the Galactica one by one and even though there had been a few close calls they all managed to land without to much damage.

After they had all landed she called the Galactica to let them know she would be in after running a few drills on her own. Kara took a deep breath and started flying for herself, she needed this time to just fly free. For a while she forgot all her troubles and just flew. She had stayed far away from CAP, she wanted this time to herself. Just as she was getting ready to go back her alarms started going off, she looked around and saw that three raiders had jumped in right behind her.

Before she could call it in the Galactica hailed her and CAP to let them know that raiders had been spotted on dradis. Kara did not have time to respond so she flipped end over end so that she was facing the oncoming raiders. Kara managed to take out one of them, but the other two got past her, so she flipped again getting ready, but before she could get a shot off she was hit by one of them. Kara knew how lucky she had gotten when she did not explode, but it had caught one of her wings making maneuvering difficult. Kara thought she was done for, then Apollo showed up and took out the one closest to her while someone from CAP finished off the other one.

Lee finally let out the breath he had been holding, he was afraid that he had lost Kara when he did not here her over the comm. After taking care of the raider he flew around her ship assessing the damage, she had lost one wing entirely. " Looks like you broke your ship Starbuck " he joked

" Thanks Apollo, now I just have to land it " Kara said as she finally got her viper turned toward the Galactica.

Lee could not believe she was going to try to land " Starbuck just punch out, you can't land like that "

Kara was not giving up on her viper, they had been through too much together " No way Apollo, I am landing "

Lee was getting frustrated " Kara, please just punch out "

" No " she yelled " Now stay out of my way "

Kara called Galactica " Galactica tell the chief to get ready, I will be coming in hot "

" Roger that Starbuck " Dee just had to be the one on the other end thought Kara

Kara said her prayers and started her run for the landing bay. She knew she would mess her viper up even more, but it couldn't be helped. As soon as she got near the deck she started braking and squealed all the way down the landing bay coming to rest against the far wall, the same way she had after bringing Apollo in at Ragnar. Then she must have blacked out, because when she came to she was in sickbay.

Lee landed right after Kara and jumped out almost before his viper had stopped moving. He took off running towards Kara pushing people out of his way. He prayed to the gods he did not believe in that she was okay. When he finally made it to her he thought she was dead until the chief told him she had only blacked out. Lee was the one who pulled her out after they lifted her canopy off. He was still holding her cradled in his arms when Doc Cottle and a stretcher showed up. " You need to put her on the stretcher Captain "

Lee finally heard Cottle speaking to him so he laid her down on the stretcher gently, but kept a hold of one of her hands. He did not let go until they got to sickbay and then Cottle ordered him out while he checked her over. Lee went as far as the waiting room chairs and sat down. It was not long before his father showed up.

Adama took a seat next to Lee " How is she?"

Lee leaned his head back against the wall and shut his eyes " I don't know "

Adama got up and went to look for a nurse or someone who could tell him more than Lee had. He could not find anyone, they must all be with Kara he thought. Finally he went back and sat across from Lee this time so he could watch the curtain everyone was behind. " I can't find anyone, Lee you must know something, someone said you were the one who pulled her out "

Lee opened his eyes and looked at his dad, he could tell that he was worried about Kara. Since him and Kara had become close he sometimes forgot how close his dad was to Kara. " I don't know how she pulled that landing off with just one wing "

Adama chuckled " Only Kara could pull something like that off "

Lee silently agreed and remembered what his dad had asked him " By the time I got to her she had blacked out "

After a while Doc Cottle came out and found both of the Adamas waiting on him. " She did not break anything, but she still has not woke up "

Adama wanted to know more " Is she going to be okay?"

Doc Cottle sat down next to him " As far as I can tell, I will know more once she wakes up "

Lee who had not spoken yet asked " Is it all right if I sit with her?"

Cottle looked at him wondering what was going on between him and Starbuck " I don't see why not, but I can't promise you that she will wake up anytime soon "

Adama had also been looking at Lee and noticed how worried he was about Kara " Lee this wasn't your fault " Adama said thinking that might be what was wrong with Lee.

" I know that " was all he said before he went in to see Kara.

* * *

Lee had been sitting by Kara's beside for an hour, during that time his dad had came and gone. As Lee sat there he took the opportunity to just look at her. He had never seen Kara so still and quiet, he hoped she woke up before he had to leave.

As Kara woke she started looking around the room and her eyes landed on Lee, he was sitting in a chair by her bed with his eyes shut. She took a moment to remember what had happened and was mad at herself for not being able to take the raiders out by herself. If she had not been preoccupied with her personal life she would have been more alert. Kara coughed loudly so that Lee would wake up, and he did.

Kara knew she was going to have to be mean to get him out of her room, as soon as he looked at her he smiled, but before he could say anything she did " I want you to leave, I don't feel like being around anybody "

Lee could not understand why she continued to act like this, she could have been killed today " Kara I have been waiting to make sure you were okay "

Kara looked away from him " Now you know, so leave "

Lee did not want to argue with her, plus he needed to get back to work " Fine, I will go, but I will be back and I'm pretty sure dad will be here as soon as he finds out you are awake "

Kara watched him as he stood up " Don't bother coming back and let the commander know that I am not ready for visitors, even him "

Lee was beginning to understand that Kara was as upset with his dad as she was with him. " I'll pass the message along, but dad will probably ignore it, he is as worried about you as I am "

He stood there a moment longer hoping that she would talk to him, instead she turned away from him and closed her eyes. No matter what she said he was coming back. He went back to his office after letting Cottle know that she was awake.

* * *

Kara was thinking about Lee and how if it wasn't for him she would probably be dead. Before she could could continue to drown herself in memories Cottle came in.

Cottle went to see Starbuck after Apollo had let him know she was awake. He walked up to her beside and started checking her vitals. " You got lucky Starbuck there was no injuries other than you getting knocked around a bit " he then pulled up the chair Apollo had been sitting in and sat down " How do you feel?"

Kara looked at him " Fine, when can I get out of here?"

" In the morning, I want to keep you overnight because you were out for so long " he knew she would probably fight him on that.

Kara nodded and surprised him when she did not argue about it " Fine, as long as you keep people from visiting me, I want to be left alone "

He had to abide by his patients request " All right, but what about the commander I know he wants to see you " he thought she would want to see Adama.

" Even him, can I have something for my headache?" she asked hoping he would not ask her why she wanted people kept away.

Cottle got up to leave " I will send the nurse in with something for your headache, and I will check in on you before my shift ends, in the meantime get some rest " he knew how hard she had been working since the war started.

Kara nodded and after he left she closed her eyes hoping to get some sleep.

* * *

When Cottle got off he called to make sure the commander was in his quarters and let him know that he would be coming by. Cottle knew that the commander would not be happy about Kara's request to deny visitors, but he had to do what his patient wanted.

As soon as he went inside the commanders quarters Adama offered him a drink, which he desperately needed. It had been a while since he had taken some time off. He only wished he didn't have to deliver what he knew would be unwelcome news. " Thanks, this is just what I needed " he said when Adama handed him his drink.

Adama had heard from Lee that Kara had woken up and that she did not want to see anyone, he wondered if Cottle knew why. He offered him a seat and after they were settled he asked " How is Kara doing?"

Cottle took several swallows of his drink before answering " She is fine, but I am keeping her overnight because of her being passed out for so long "

Adama nodded his understanding " Do you know why she does not want any visitors?"

Even though Cottle did not understand it himself he tried to answer him " I'm not sure, maybe it is because she just wants to rest without being interrupted, you know that she has been to busy to have time just to relax "

" You are probably right, but there seems to be something bothering her " even though he did not really understand her reasons he knew that he would abide by them.

Cottle decided to to warn him about Apollo " She does not want to see your son either and I am pretty sure he will still try to see her " after finishing off his drink he continued " I am going to have to order him to stay out of sickbay "

Adama thought Cottle was being a little dramatic, he knew that Lee would understand " I am sure he will understand, it is his job to make sure his pilots are okay "

Cottle just shook his head, he knew there was something more than Apollo just wanting to check on a pilot. He decided not to say anything, since the commander seemed to think it was nothing, he stood up " I need to be going, I need to get some sleep while I can "

Adama understood and after thanking him for coming by, walked with Cottle out of his office " I am needed in the CIC, thanks again "

Cottle simply nodded and walked away, reminding himself to let the overnight staff know that Starbuck was to have no visitors.

* * *

Lee had gone to his office after leaving Kara. He knew that he would have to write a report about what had happened today. He knew that when Kara was better she would have to write her own version about what had happened out there. After that he went to the bunk room where the pilots in Kara's class stayed. Lee knew that she would not be recovered enough to be at class early the next morning, and he needed to let them know that class would be suspended for a day.

After he told them Crashdown asked " What are we supposed to do instead?"

Lee had not thought about that. " Report to the hangar deck first thing in the morning, I will let the chief know that you will be showing up " he paused a moment thinking " Crashdown I want you, Pike, and JoJo to help the nuggets out by showing them how to work on vipers and raptors "

Lee heard a few of them groan about having to do maintenance, but he knew they would follow orders and he needed to be somewhere, so he let it go and left.

Lee headed down to sickbay to see Kara. He no sooner walked through the doors before he was stopped immediately by a nurse " Captain, Doc Cottle left orders that Lt. Thrace was not to have any visitors "

Lee took a step to move past her " I am the CAG and I have the right to check on my pilot "

The nurse put her hand up to stop him " The Doctor said you would say that, but he said his orders stand, so I am afraid you are going to have to leave "

Lee knew that he would have to leave, because Cottle outranked him. He turned and slowly walked out of sickbay. Lee wondered if his dad had found out Kara's reasons for not wanting visitors. Lee wanted to talk to him, but knew he was on watch in the CIC. He headed to the rec room to see if there was a card game going on. He needed to do something to keep his mind busy, otherwise he would spend the rest of the evening thinking about Kara.

* * *

Lee was in luck there seemed to be a couple of tables with games going on. He saw Duck and decided to sit at his table. " You guys mind dealing me in?"

" We can always use fresh players " Duck said chuckling as he dealt Lee in.

After picking up his cards Lee looked around to see who all was playing. Frak, he thought as his eyes landed on Dee, he knew he couldn't leave, he had just sat down. Lee began to think the whole universe was conspiring to keep him and Kara apart.

Boomer had watched as Apollo sat down and waited to ask him about Starbuck " How is Starbuck doing, Captain?"

Lee knew that as the CAG they knew he would have already checked on Kara " She is going to be all right, but Cottle is not allowing any visitors "

As Keeper picked up his cards he said " That seems a bit odd "

Boomer had no idea what was going on, but she felt fairly certain that Starbuck had been the one who had asked Cottle to keep visitors away. " I am sure Doc has his reasons " she said hoping to stop the questions.

Lee looked at Boomer when she said that, and he got the idea that Boomer knew that it was Kara who had stopped anyone from being able to see her.

After a few hands had been played Lee saw Keeper pouring a drink and decided he wanted one too. " Can I get one of those?" he asked pointing at Keepers drink.

Keeper reached and grabbed another glass and poured the CAG one and slid it over to him. He watched as Lee downed the drink and pushed his glass back for another one. " You sure you want another one Apollo?"

" I'm sure, now pour " Lee picked up the glass when Keeper passed it back to him. He looked around and saw that they were looking at him and decided to drink this one slower.

They continued playing and after a while they did not think about how much the CAG was drinking. Lee knew he was getting drunk, but he did not care. He even managed to win a few hands and did not care that Dee had scooted her chair closer to him. He even loosened up and made small talk with them. Dee had started flirting with him and after a while he flirted back. Lee realized he was having fun for the first time since Kara had called things off between them.

Boomer had been watching Apollo all night and knew he was trying to get drunk. She also knew that he cared about Kara as much as she cared about him. She watched as Dee moved closer to Apollo and started flirting with him, but when he started flirting back Boomer knew she had to do something. " It seems odd not to have Starbuck playing with us " she said it loud enough to get Apollo's attention.

Lee jerked when he heard Boomer say Starbuck and looked across the table at her. He then realized that Dee was practically in his lap so he scooted his chair away from her. Hearing Starbucks name was like having a cold bucket of water thrown on him. Lee was ashamed of himself, but he knew that Kara was part to blame for his behavior. If she kept pushing him away he would just have to resign himself to moving on, but not tonight he thought as he stood up to leave. " I enjoyed it guys, but I need to hit my rack " he looked at Boomer one last time before leaving.

The table had gotten quiet after Boomer mentioned Starbuck. They watched as their CAG got up and left quickly. " I wonder what that was about?" asked Duck

Boomer spoke up " I think Apollo suddenly realized how drunk he was getting "

" He seemed to be having a good time " Dee blurted out and then blushed.

Keeper laughed " Aw, it seems Dee has a crush on the CAG " Duck laughed at that

" I think Apollo has other priorities " Boomer said looking at Dee

" You are talking about Starbuck, aren't you?" Duck asked her

Before Boomer could reply Dee said something " He told me that things were over between him and Starbuck "

Keeper chuckled " Care to make a wager on that Dee?"

" Count me in, even though Starbuck herself told me things were over between them, I don't believe it " Duck said laughing

Dee was not about to give up " Then why did I get invited to have dinner with him and the commander, plus Lee also walked me back to my bunk room "

The table got quiet when she said that, that was something they did not know.

Boomer had heard enough " Believe what you want Dee, but Apollo and Starbuck will never be over " then she got up and left.

After Boomer left Keeper and Duck decided to call it a night leaving Dee sitting at the table by herself. Dee decided that she would do whatever it took to make Lee forget about Starbuck. With that decided she smiled and got up, she would put her plan in motion tomorrow.

* * *

Lee had stumbled his way back to his office after leaving the rec room. He would have to find Dee tomorrow and apologize for the way he acted, even though he could not remember if he had did anything wrong. Lee knew that things between him and Kara was messed up and it was beginning to interfere with his job. Since he had tried everything he could think of to get her to listen to him, he decided maybe it would be best just to leave her alone. He did not want to give up on them, but he did not know what else to do.

Lee finally crawled into bed and just like always he fell asleep thinking of Kara.

* * *

Kara woke up after a long nap and was disappointed not to see Lee, even though she had told him to leave. She was really glad that the commander had not come. Kara felt like he was betraying her by setting Lee up with Dee. Kara knew she had to stick by her plan even though being without Lee was killing her, she wished she could run away. She had even thought about quitting the military and going to live on a civilian ship, but knew she needed to finish training the nuggets first. Maybe after that she would think about leaving, she could always tend bar on Cloud Nine.

After she finished eating she rolled over and shut her eyes and tried to imagine what life would be like if she left the Galactica.

* * *

( Leave a comment )


	14. Chapter 14

A Different Beginning----Chapter 14

Mostly AU and it begins with the mini-series. Also I am writing this solo and I apologize for any mistakes.

Chapter------14

When Kara woke up she called for a nurse, she was ready to leave sickbay. Kara noticed that someone had brought her a change of clothes and left them on the foot of her bed. She was getting up to get dressed when Cottle walked in. " Lay back down Starbuck, I need to ask you a few questions before I discharge you "

Kara laid back down " So ask "

" Is your head still hurting?" Cottle asked as he pulled out his penlight.

" No " she said

Cottle stood up and leaned over her and shined the light in each of her eyes. " Well everything seems normal, I am releasing you back to full duty, but I want you to take the rest of the day off, you can get dressed now "

" Great " Kara said as she stood up to get dressed. Before he left she asked " Who left me the clothes?"

" I have no idea " Cottle answered as he was walking out.

After Kara got dressed she headed to the bunk room to grab her things for a shower. After taking a long shower she got out and dressed in her work clothes intending on finding out where her nuggets were. She found them in the rec room. " I hope you guys have not been sitting around on your asses this whole time "

JoJo spoke up " We just got off maintenance duty "

" Who assigned you to do that?" Kara asked looking at Crashdown

" The CAG sent us down there to help the chief and to show the nuggets how to work on vipers and raptors " Crashdown told her

Kara should have known Lee would take care of them " Good, but tomorrow we are getting back in the air "

Kara heard them all start whooping and she smiled.

After they quieted down Hotdog spoke " Thank you, God " and then they snickered.

" Well, I will see you all on the flight deck at seven tomorrow morning " Kara told them before leaving.

Kara had decided to go with her plan and work them long and hard so she could graduate them earlier than she planned. Instead of quitting the military she was going to ask for some time off so that she could get away from the Galactica for a while. She knew Adama would not like it, but he would prefer it over her quitting.

Kara decided to head down to where the raider was, because that was one more thing she needed to wrap up before she could ask for time off. She did not think that tinkering on the raider was consider working. She was glad no one was around, she wanted to work without being disturbed. When she climbed inside she could tell that the chief had someone clean it up, it smelled a lot better. Kara worked on taking out the things they would not need trying to make it so there was more room inside and left the most crucial things like oxygen and the seals needed to keep it airtight.

* * *

When Lee woke up he dreaded having to get through another day. He knew he was getting depressed, but he did not have a clue what to do about it. As he was getting dressed he wondered if he would see Kara, he knew she was being released today. First thing he knew he had to do was apologize to Dee.

When he made it to the CIC he walked over to her station " Dee, I need to speak with you sometime today "

Dee looked up at him and smiled " How about during lunch, we can grab a bite to eat "

Lee had wanted to talk in a public place anyway " Okay "

Lee turned around and saw his dad looking at him and smiling so he walked over to him " It is not what you think, I just need to talk to her "

Adama patted him on the shoulder " It is none of my business son "

Lee thought, now he would choose to stay out of his business after he had ruined things between him and Kara. " I think you waited too late to stay out of my business "

Adama frowned at him " What do you mean?"

Lee sighed " Never mind "

Adama watched him as he walked away wondering what he meant.

Lee made sure to keep busy so he would not have to talk to his dad or Dee. Before long it was time for lunch so he stopped by Dee's station and told her he would meet her in the mess hall.

Lee made sure to get there first and picked a table away from everyone so nobody could hear their conservation. It was not long before Dee joined him. As she was sitting down Lee noticed several people looking their way.

Lee started talking the moment she sat down hoping to get this over with quickly. " Dee, I just wanted to apologize for last night, I was drunk and if I did anything wrong I am sorry "

Dee wanted to touch him, but she thought it might be too soon " You did nothing wrong Lee, I had a good time and I think you did too "

Lee looked at her strangely " I don't want to give you the wrong idea, you are a sweet person, but I am not interested in seeing anybody right now "

Dee was not going to give up, this time she reached and grabbed his hand " That's okay, how about we just try being friends for right now "

Lee was about to respond when he looked up and saw Kara standing in the hatchway watching them. He jerked his hand back quickly and stood up to go and talk to her, but before he could she turned around and left. He looked at Dee " I have to go " and left before she could say anything.

Lee searched for Kara everywhere and could not find her. He finally quit when it came time for his CAP. Lee could only imagine what she must have thought. He was so lost in his thoughts that he was unprepared when a basestar jumped in almost on top of his patrol. Before he had time to respond his viper took a bad hit leaving him defenseless. If it had not been for Duck and Keeper he would not have lived to see another day. As it was he had to eject after the cylons jumped away leaving him having to be picked up by Boomer. He was glad no one tried to talk to him, as soon as they landed he jumped out and went to his office.

* * *

Kara took a break from working on the raider to go grab lunch. As soon as she stepped in the hatchway she saw Lee and Dee having lunch together. She could not help but watch, then she saw Dee reach and grab his hand and she felt sick, then Lee looked up and saw her. Kara knew she had to get out of there fast, so she headed down to the flight deck and caught a raptor that was leaving. She did not care where it was going, just as long as she got away from the Galactica and Lee. Kara remembered she still had her coveralls on and stood up to take them off. She was also glad that she always wore something underneath them. Kara knew that she would not be on duty until tomorrow morning, so nobody should even know she was gone.

Kara got off on Cloud Nine and headed straight for the bar, but not before she took the rubber band out of her hair. Kara took the time to shake it loose and run her fingers through her hair to straighten it up. She went into the bar, after sitting down she ordered her first drink. Kara figured she could try and drink herself into oblivion. Kara knew she had been a fool to ever think Lee would want her in his life. Oh she knew he needed her as a pilot and an instructor, but nothing else. After a few more drinks she got to talking to the bartender and found out that she could have a job there when she got ready. With that settled she drank several more drinks and started looking around for some company. She spotted a guy she had never seen before sitting at the end of the bar. Kara was drunk enough that she thought why the frak not, grabbed her drink and headed his way.

She stopped beside him " Is this seat taken?"

The man looked up at her and smiled " I was saving it for you "

Kara sat down and looked sideways at him after propping her elbows up on the bar " You use that line often?"

" First time " when she looked at him doubtful he said " I swear, it is the first time "

Kara gave him one of her trademark smirks " Fine, I believe you " then she asked him " What line of work are you in?"

He leaned in close to her " I own the restaurant downstairs "

Kara silently thanked the gods that he was not military " Does that mean you can cook?"

He winked at her " Sure does, maybe you can stop by sometime and try it out "

Kara leaned back and looked him over. He was a nice looking man, he had light brown hair that hung just below his shirt collar and hazel eyes, plus he was muscular. Kara thought for a minute and decided to be bold " How about tonight?"

He copied her then and leaned back and looked her over " I take it you came here straight from work and we don't even know each others name "

Kara looked at what she was wearing and shrugged " I didn't have time to change and names are overrated, don't you think? " Kara drank the last of her drink and put it down waiting to see what he would do. For a second she thought of Lee and almost changed her mind, then she remembered them holding hands and eating together and was determined to use this man to help her forget about Lee, at least for one night.

He stood up " You ready to go?"

Kara jumped up off the bar stool and followed him out of the bar. She thought they were headed to his room, but was surprised when they ended up at his restaurant. " What are we doing here?"

He led her back to the kitchen area " I thought I would fix us something to eat, I think we both need to sober up "

Kara just stood there surprised, watching him pull out a skillet and place it on the stove. " What if I don't want to sober up?"

He turned around and faced her " I watched you at the bar, and I can tell when a person is drinking to forget someone "

Kara leaned against the closest counter " So, what if I was, what does it matter? "

" I have learned from past mistakes that it is not a good idea to get drunk and jump into bed with someone, the person always ends up regretting it " he then turned around and started cooking.

Kara did not know what to think of this man. All she wanted to do was frak him until she stopped thinking about Lee. Kara was starting to sober up, and whatever he was cooking smelled delicious. She saw a stool at one end of the counter and went to sit down. " You are a strange man "

He turned to look at her with an amused look " Why do you say that?"

" Because most men would already have me in a bed or somewhere fraking " she told him grinning

" Then I guess I am not like most men " he said as he filled two plates with omelets he had cooked.

" No, you're not " she said quietly

By this time, he was coming toward her with two plates, placing one in front of her and grabbing another stool to pull up to the counter for him and then he pulled his plate toward him " Well, aren't you going to eat?"

Kara took a bite of the omelet and moaned " This is delicious "

He looked at her " Thank you "

By the time they had finished eating Kara had sobered up and was starting to feel nervous. She was not used to talking with strange men unless she was drunk. She knew now that she was sober, she could not go through with fraking him. Kara knew she needed to say something " I enjoyed that, thank you "

He stood up and picked up their plates to put them away. " Your welcome " he came back over and sat down " So, you feel like telling me why you were trying so hard to get drunk?"

Kara looked at him stunned that he had asked her that, and for a minute she thought about telling him. " I changed my mind, I think we should introduce ourselves, my name is Kara "

He reached his hand out to her " Hey Kara, I am Mark " then they shook hands.

" Now that we are both sober, how do feel about going to my room?" he knew that she had changed her mind, he just wanted her to admit it.

Kara knew that he was the kind of man who deserved an explanation " About that, I realize now that I am sober, that I can't use you like that, I was hoping to get drunk enough to forget about someone, I'm sorry "

Mark laughed " It's okay, I kinda knew that was what you were doing " he reached out and placed his hand on hers " Why don't we just be friends, Kara?"

Kara smiled at him " I would like that, I don't have many friends, just co-workers "

He pulled his hand back, glad that they had agreed to be friends " Neither do I, now that you know what I do, tell me what you do "

Kara chuckled " I am a viper pilot "

Mark was impressed " Wow, so you are one of the people who defend the fleet everyday "

Kara relaxed, she realized that she was enjoying talking to Mark " Yep, and I am also the instructor for new pilots "

" I'm surprised you managed to get off for the night " Mark said as he leaned back on his stool

Kara blushed " Technically I am off today, but I kinda left without telling anyone "

Mark studied her for a minute " Are you going to get in trouble?"

She smirked " Most likely "

Mark stood up " Then you should probably get back "

" Are you trying to get rid of me?" she asked joking as she stood up

" Of course not, I just want you to be able to come back for a visit soon " he said as he led her out of the kitchen

Kara stopped him and looked at him " Thank you Mark, you were right, I would have regretted it "

" Now that we are friends let's keep in touch " Mark told Kara

" I will, and don't be surprised when I show up in your restaurant one day " she said as she walked away.

* * *

Kara headed down to the docking area to wait on a raptor. While she was waiting she realized that she felt better. That did not mean that she had gotten over seeing Lee and Dee together. At least she had made a friend, something she needed more than a frak buddy. With Helo gone and her and Lee not talking, she was glad to have Mark as a friend. She saw a raptor approaching and was glad that it was Boomer.

After they were headed back to the Galactica Boomer said " I was wondering where you disappeared to " she looked back at Kara " Certain people have been looking for you "

" I guess that means I am in trouble " Kara chuckled " You know what, I don't even care "

Boomer knew she had to tell Starbuck about Apollo " While you were gone the cylons showed up and Apollo came close to being killed "

Kara gasped and went to sit next to Boomer " Oh my gods, what happened?"

Boomer glanced over at her " It happened during CAP patrol, a basestar jumped in almost on top of CAP, Apollo did not have time to respond and took a hit and had to eject " she paused " Duck and Keeper saved his life, they said that Apollo seemed distracted during patrol "

Kara looked stricken " Is he okay?"

Boomer nodded " He did not even go to life station, as a matter of fact he has been in his office ever since it happened "

They were landing on the Galactica so Kara did not say anything else. As soon as they came to a stop she jumped out of the raptor and headed for the bunk room.

She knew she probably smelled like booze, so she went to take a shower. After her shower she was just about to crawl into bed when she heard over the comm to report to Commander Adama's office.

* * *

Kara knew she could not avoid a summons, so she headed to his office. After knocking she was told to enter. She walked in and stood at attention.

Adama watched her a minute " At ease Starbuck, have a seat "

Kara took the chair across from him at his desk. " You wanted to see me sir?"

Adama clasped his hands together and leaned back " Yes, for several reasons, why have you been avoiding me Kara?"

Kara would only say " I have been very busy "

" Why didn't you want any visitors while you were in life station?" he asked looking at her closely

Kara did not look directly at him as she usually did " I just wanted to rest without being disturbed and I was upset with myself for being caught unaware by the cylons "

Adama seemed to accept her explanation " That was not your fault Kara, no more than it was Lee's, when the same thing happened to him today "

Kara looked at him then " I just heard about that, how is he?"

Adama straightened up " I was told he was okay, but he has been holed up in his office since it happened " he took a moment to look at her knowing that there was something wrong with her " You and Lee both have been acting odd lately, what is going on?"

" We have just been really busy since the worlds ended, there is always something to deal with " Kara said as she scooted up to the edge of her chair

Adama saw that she wanted to leave, but he wasn't finished with her yet " Why did you go off ship without letting anyone know, that is not like you Kara?"

Kara knew she would never tell him the truth about why she left, plus she was still upset with him " I was off duty for the day and I needed to get off the Galactica for a while "

" I understand, but don't ever do that again without getting permission first " Adam said it in a way that she knew she would get in trouble if she did it again.

Kara stood up " If that is all commander I need to hit my rack "

Adama got up " You can go Kara, but I am here if you ever need to talk "

Kara nodded and walked out the hatch headed to her bunk.

* * *

Lee had been in his office the rest of the afternoon after Boomer had picked him up and brought him back to the Galactic. He handled the rest of his shift out of his office. He thought that Kara might come by after she heard what had happened to him during CAP. It was not long before he heard her being paged over the ship wide comm. After the fourth time he knew that she was not on the Galactica. Lee knew that seeing him with Dee had upset her, but he never thought she would leave the ship. He could not help but wonder where she went.

After his shift was over and there was still no sign of her he began to worry. Lee knew he was feeling miserable, he wondered how she felt. Lee came to the realization that Kara was upset with his dad also. He knew it had to be about Dee. Lee also could understand if she was upset about the fact that Dee had joined him and his dad for dinner. She probably felt like she was being replaced. After he had time to think about it, he realized that Kara thought that his dad did not want them to have a relationship, and in a way he didn't. He had even said that him and Kara worked to close together and it could cause problems. Lee did not agree with him. He finally heard her being paged and was told to report to the commanders office. He hoped that things worked out with Kara and his dad. Lee almost got up and went to his dads office just so he could see her, but thought it would be better not to bother them.

He knew it was late and he had to get up early so he went to bed. He would try to talk to her tomorrow. With that decision made he closed his eyes and thought about the night they had stayed together on the ice planet. It seemed so long ago.

* * *

Kara woke up and got ready to start her day. She felt better, it had to be because she had gotten away from the Galactica for a while and had made a new friend. As soon as she was dressed she headed to the mess hall for breakfast. After she finished she went to meet her nuggets. She knew they were excited about being able to fly today. As soon as she got them ready, they all lined up to take off. Kara decided instead of running maneuvers she would let them fly free for a while.

After several wide trips around the fleet she ran them through several maneuvers. They all seemed to be doing good, Kara thought that after a few more days of flying that she would be able to pass them and let them start flying CAPS. She found herself smiling more than she had in days. After they graduated she would spend all her free time on the raider, getting it ready for a test, then she would ask Adama for some time off.

* * *

Lee was working in the CIC this morning again. This time he ignored Dee and his father. Someone had opened up the comms and he could hear Kara teaching her nuggets. She seemed to be in a good mood, that made him wonder where she went yesterday. Lee hoped she was not seeing someone. He was determined that he was going to talk to her, even if he had to make it an order.

Lee noticed that his dad had walked up beside him " Kara seems to be in a good mood and by the sounds of it she will graduate them soon, and we will have some more pilots "

Lee decided to take a chance and ask about last night " How did your meeting with Starbuck go?"

Adama thought back over the meeting " It went okay, but she has been acting different for the past few days "

Lee looked at him " She has been different ever since you called us to your office the other day "

Adama looked at him " You are right now that I think about it, what happened?"

Lee sighed " I have been trying to figure it out, believe me "

Adama looked at Lee " The two of you are friends why don't you just ask her?"

Lee looked directly at his father " Kara and I are not friends "

Adama scoffed " What do you mean?"

Still looking at his father " Just what I said, now let it go "

Adama did not understand " How are you and Dee doing?"

Lee had finally had enough and moved so that he was facing his dad " I am going to say this one time, I do not want a relationship with Dee and I would appreciate it if you stopped trying to get us together!! "

Adama could tell that Lee was very upset " Okay Lee, I will stay out of your personal life, but just for the record I was only trying to help you out "

" I know, but your idea of helping me out has done nothing but frak up my life " Lee told him " I am going to take my break now " and he walked out of the CIC.

Adama stood there after Lee left trying to figure out what was going on with him. He felt that whatever it was it had something to do with Kara. Things had been awkward with the both of them. He decided to keep a close eye on them.

Lee went to the observation deck so he could watch Kara with her class. He hoped he had made his dad understand how he felt and that he would stay out of his personal life.

Lee went back to work after his break and right before his shift ended Dee approached him " Would you like to go to lunch, just as friends?" she asked smiling at him.

Lee shook his head " No Dee, I have other plans "

" Another time then " she went back to her station to finish up before the next shift came on.

The very second that his shift ended Lee made a bee line straight to the hangar deck to wait on Kara to land. He watched her land and when she got out of her cockpit she was smiling. Then he heard her laughing about something Cally must have said. Something had changed with Kara ever since she came back after running off. He waited until she was finished and saw her turn to walk his way. As she approached him she stopped.

" I heard what happened yesterday Apollo, I'm glad your okay" Kara was trying to act professional

Lee looked at her strangely " Thanks, listen Kara I want to talk to you about what you saw in the mess hall yesterday "

" There's no need Apollo, it's your life " Kara was going to get through this conservation even if it killed her.

Lee was getting frustrated " That's just it Kara, that is not my life, you are what makes my life worthwhile "

" Really, well you could have fooled me, cause every time I see you Dee is around " Kara was starting to get mad and she had been in a good mood.

Lee sighed " Kara I promise I have no feelings for her, but she wants a relationship with me, I have told her I am not interested, I don't know what else you want me to do "

This time Kara sighed " Look obviously your dad does not want us to be together, so why don't we try to be friends "

Lee took her arm and pulled her into an empty hallway " Kara you know dad loves you, and I believe if we tell him about us he will be okay with it "

Kara looked at him and wanted to believe like he did, but she had so many doubts " Why don't we try being friends first and see where it goes from there "

It was not what Lee wanted, but at least it was something " Okay, but answer me this, do you still have feelings for me and I am not talking about friendly ones ?"

Kara reached up and touched the side of his face " Of course I do Lee, but I wish I didn't "

Lee pulled her to him and kissed her before she could stop him. For a second she did not respond then she kissed him back. Kara let the kiss go on for a while before she pulled back to look at him then she stuck out her hand " Friends?"

Lee reached and shook her hand " Friends " when he let go he told her " I have missed you Kara "

She smiled at him " I missed you too "

Lee walked away smiling for the first time in a while.

When Lee had walked off Kara stood there watching him walk away. The kiss made her remember how much she had missed being with him. That still did not change the fact that she was going to take some time off. Kara finally moved to go and work on the raider.

* * *

When she got there she saw that the chief was already tinkering with the raider. " So, when do you think we can have our first test flight?"

Chief was smiling at her " Does tomorrow sound all right?"

That made Kara grin " Really, you think it is ready?"

" Yes " the chief guided her under the raider " Why don't you get in and fire it up, then run through the controls "

Kara did not have to be asked twice, she crawled inside and put on the earpiece that the chief had set up so they could talk without having to holler. " Okay, I'm ready to begin "

" Power it up " the chief was as excited as Kara

Kara powered it up and ran through all of the controls. Everything went smoothly. She kicked the hatch open and crawled out. " I have class first thing in the morning, but I will be free after that "

The chief could not stop smiling " I will let the commander know, and I will see you after your class "

Kara walked away grinning from ear to ear. Nothing was going to spoil her good mood. She then headed to the hangar deck for her maintenance shift. Kara spent the next two hours working on vipers and then she got ready for CAP. She had checked the schedule and knew Lee would be flying CAP also. It seemed like it had been a long time since they had flown together.

* * *

They had been on CAP for two hours when she was told to land and meet the commander in the situation room. Lee was also told to come in as soon as replacements got there. She wondered what could be wrong, for some reason she had a bad feeling.

When she got to the situation room Adama was there along with Colonel Tigh and the President. " Have a seat Starbuck "

Kara sat down " What's wrong?"

Adama looked at her closely " A cylon model has been taken into custody and it claims to have placed a bomb on one of the ships in the fleet "

President Roslin spoke " It is set to go off in eight hours, well seven hours now "

Kara looked at each of them " Okay, so what do you want with me?"

Adam stood up and walked over to her " This model says it will only talk to you, so we need you to interrogate it "

Kara had a bad feeling " Which model is it?"

Adama looked down at her " It's the Leobon model Kara "

Kara knew she had no choice " I'll do it, where is Leobon?"

Adama went and sat back down " In the brig under heavy guard, are you sure you want to do this Kara?"

Kara stood up " Yes sir, I'll get started right away " and she walked out.

Once she made it out of the room she leaned against one of the bulkheads and took a deep breath. Lee had walked up and placed a hand on her back " What's wrong Kara?"

Kara reached for one of his hands and held it for a minute needing to touch him. " They are waiting for you inside, they will fill you in, I gotta go"

As she walked by him he grabbed her hand to stop her " Where are you going?"

" Just go inside Lee and they will let you know what is going on " Kara squeezed his hand before walking away.

Lee went in to find Tigh, Roslin and his dad sitting there talking. " What's going on?"

" Have a seat Lee " his dad waited while he sat down

They told him exactly what they had told Kara. " You plan on sending her in there alone?"

Adama had the same concerns as Lee " It is chained up and there will be two guards in there with her "

Lee felt somewhat better " What do you want me to do?"

" We want you to get two teams of marines together and have them start searching each ship. After that I want you to listen in on the interrogation " Adama stood up after that and ended the meeting, but asked Lee to hang back.

Lee knew something was up " What's wrong dad?"

Adama did not know how much to say because he had promised Kara, but he had also told her he would not say anything unless it became a problem. This was a problem. " Sit down Lee, this could take a minute "

Lee was getting worried " It's about Kara isn't it?"

Adama sighed " Yes, when I was with Leobon on Ragnar he talked about Kara, he said that Kara belonged to him and he would not stop until he had her "

Lee jumped up and yelled " You sent her in there knowing that!! "

Adama could understand Lee's reaction " I had to, he would not talk to anyone else, Kara knows all of this, she has known for a while " Adama paused before going on " That is why I want you to monitor the situation and pull her out if it gets to be a problem, but keep in mind that Kara will use any means necessary to get the information out of him "

" What does Kara know about interrogation?" Lee asked curious

Adama stood up " Kara grew up hard Lee, she is a survivor and she will get the job done, don't pull her out unless her life is in danger and be prepared to see a side of Kara that you would never expect "

All Lee could do was stare at his father, wondering just how much he knew about Kara " I had better go "

Adama stopped him " Lee, no one knows about this except Kara, you and me and I would like to keep it that way, also I think it would be best if Kara did not know it will be you listening in "

Lee nodded and left for the brig.

* * *

( Leave a comment )


	15. Chapter 15

A Different Beginning----Chapter 15

AU and it starts at the mini-series. I am writing this solo and I apologize for any mistakes.

Chapter---15

Lee made it to the brig before Kara did. He sat there watching the cylon, he did not seem to be worried. Lee was hoping to find out why this cylon believed Kara belonged to him. It had been forty years since they last saw the cylons, how could they possibly know anything about Kara. Lee knew that he would do anything to keep the cylons from taking her. He watched as Kara walked into the room.

After Kara left the meeting she stopped by her locker and took a big swallow of the chief's brew she had stashed. Then she changed out of her flight suit into tanks and a pair of work pants. After that she headed down to the brig. She stood by the door taking a good look at Leobon before she went in. Kara looked at her watch, she had six hours and thirty minutes before the bomb was supposed to go off. Although she had never interrogated anyone before she knew for the sake of the fleet she would do whatever she had to.

She walked in slowly, taking in everything in the room. Kara saw that Leobon had shackles on his feet and hands and was shackled to the table also. Leobon had put his head down on the table when she entered the room. Kara took a seat before speaking and banged her hand hard on the table causing him to look up " I'm sorry, were you trying to sleep?" she asked sarcastically.

Leobon raised his head up when she hit the table " No, I was praying "

Kara scoffed " I don't think the Gods answer cylon prayers "

" God answers every ones prayers " Leobon said staring at her

Kara changed the subject " How many cylons are there in the fleet?"

Leobon smiled " We haven't been properly introduced, I am Leobon and you are Kara Thrace "

Kara ignored him " I'll ask you again, how many cylons are there in the fleet?"

" I have no idea " he said with a sneer

" I don't believe you, how long have you been hiding in the fleet?" Kara asked calmly

Leobon did not answer her.

" Why were you hiding in the fleet?" she asked

" I had a mission to perform " Leobon said looking at her

He finally answered a question " What was your mission?"

" Sabotage " he said as he reached towards her, but his chains kept him from being able to touch her.

Kara stood up " I am not here to play games with you, either start answering all of my questions or we are done "

Leobon didn't comment.

As she was walking out Leobon called out to her " Come back and sit down Kara and I will tell you everything, eventually "

As much as she hated to, she sat back down " Start talking, tell me where the bomb is"

Leobon smiled at her again " I will, but first I want to get to know you Kara "

Kara smirked at him " I have a better idea, why don't I just put you out the airlock and tell them you never said a word "

Leobon turned serious " You won't do that Kara, your military training won't allow you to "

Kara got up and walked out. She needed to call Adama and check in. " He is not telling me anything important sir, he just wants to play mind games with me"

Adama cursed " We have not found the bomb yet, just do what you can Starbuck "

As soon as she went back in Leobon started " You believe in the gods, don't you Kara?

" Why do you want to know?" Kara asked getting sick of being in the same room with him.

" Because God said that you had a destiny and that you belonged to me." Leobon paused before going on " I know that you pray to Artemis and Aphrodite and while you have many gods we just have one " Leobon said as he leaned back in his chair

Kara was getting frustrated " I don't give a damn about your God !! "

Leobon started talking nonsense " To know the face of God is to know madness "

Kara did not respond she just leaned back in her chair, waiting for him to say something worthwhile.

Leobon continued talking nonsense " I see the patterns, I see the universe, I see the foreshadowing that precedes every moment of every day" Leobon leaned as close to Kara as he could " It's all there. I see it and you don't, that is why you need me "

Kara acted uninterested in what he had been saying " Where is the bomb located?"

Leobon ignored her question " I have something to tell you Kara, it's about the future "

" Is that so?" she asked

" It is, but we have to see this through to the end " Leobon said thinking he finally had her attention.

Before Kara could say anything a marine came in and placed a tray of food in front of her. She noticed how Leobon was looking at her food, she then smiled and started eating, making a big show of enjoying her food.

While Kara was eating he asked her " What is the most basic article of faith?" he answered his own question " This is not all that we are " she did not respond so he continued talking " The difference between me and you is, I know what that means and you don't." he paused thinking she would ask him what he meant " I know that I'm more than this body, more than this consciousness and a part of me swims in the stream and a part of me is standing on the shore, but the current never takes me downstream "

Kara finished eating and placed what was left to the side of her " Now, what was that about swimming in a stream?"

Leobon looked at the food and then her " Do you mind?"

Kara pushed the tray over to him " I'm starving, I haven't eaten in days "

Kara laughed " That's kinda bad programming, making machines feel hunger "

Leobon stopped eating to answer her " It makes me human "

" You are not a human!! " she shouted

Kara made a motion to one of the guards and he hit Leobon hard across his face while he a mouth full of food. When he straightened back up, Kara asked "Did that hurt?"

Leobon nodded " Yeah, that hurt "

" Good " she said " Machines shouldn't feel pain, shouldn't bleed, and shouldn't sweat." she leaned close to him " A smart cylon would turn off the pain about now, but I don't think your too smart "

Leobon looked at her and sneered " Maybe I'll turn it off and you won't even know it "

Kara motioned the guard to hit him again. This time it was hard enough that he was knocked out of his chair onto the floor. " Tell me what I want to know and I'll stop all of this "

Leobon became cryptic again as he lay there looking up at her " I knew this about you, you are everything I thought you would be, but I still won't tell you anything "

" Maybe not, but when I'm through with you, you will know that me, a human beat you, because you are nothing but a machine " Kara taunted him

" Let the games began " Leobon said smiling

Kara motioned for the guards again, this time she let them beat him until he fell back to the floor and pulled himself into a fetal position. She stood over him " Now, if you were human you would be ready to tell me the location of the bomb, so that must mean you are nothing but a machine "

Leobon looked up at her " I am more than you could ever imagine, I am God "

Kara busted out laughing " So now you think you are God, wow nice to meet you "

" We are all God Kara, I see the love that binds all living things together " he said as the guards placed him back in the chair

Kara sneered " You don't know what love means "

After relaxing back in the chair he spoke " I know that you are special and God loved you more than all other living creatures, and you repaid his divine love with sin, hate, corruption and evil and that was when he decided to create the cylons "

Kara leaned across the table close to him " The gods had nothing to do with it, we created you!! " she paused " It was a stupid fraked up decision, and we have paid for it "

Kara wasn't through " You slaughtered our entire civilization, that is sin, that is evil and you are evil !! "

Leobon wiped his mouth and then spread the blood across the table " I see the truths that float past you in the stream "

Kara leaned back " You have a real thing for rivers and streams, don't you, so I think we should indulge you in your obsession " she looked at the guards and nodded, letting them know she wanted a bucket of water.

Leobon watched Kara as the guards left the room " Do you realize I could kill you before they get back?" Kara quirked an eyebrow at him " I could get to my feet, rip your skull from your spinal column and crash through that door and kill the guard in less time than it has taken me to describe it to you "

Kara didn't flinch " Then why don't you?"

" It's not the right time " he said as he sat back

Kara laughed at him, and before she knew it he had broke his chains and shoved the table away, then grabbed her by the neck and held her against the wall choking her. " I have a surprise for you Kara " he whispered

The guards came rushing in and when Kara straightened back up she looked at Leobon " You just fraked up!! "

Kara sat on the edge of the table while two guards held Leobon down on his knees. As soon as she saw the bucket of water being brought in she smiled. The guards placed the bucket in front of Leobon.

Kara grinned at Leobon before motioning the guards to dunk him. She left his head in the water for a while and when the guards pulled him up she said " Now tell me where the bomb is "

When he did not answer she had him dunked again, longer this time. She motioned the guards to pull him up " Tell me where the bomb is "

Instead of telling her, he said " This is not your path Kara, you have a destiny to fulfill with me "

" You are nothing but a delusional machine, who believes in a god that doesn't exist and I have no destiny, especially with you !!" she then motioned for the guards to dunk him again.

After they pulled him up, he fell to the floor gasping for breath, but still looked at Kara. " I know you, you were born to a woman who believed that suffering was good for the soul, so you suffered " he stopped to catch his breath " Your life is a testament to pain, injuries and accidents, some inflicted upon others, others inflicted upon yourself " Leobon looked to see if she was affected by what he was saying " She wanted to hurt you, so that you would believe you were nothing but trouble, and you believed her, that's why you think you are nothing but bad luck " he paused "You are like a cancer that needs to be removed and you still hear her voice everyday "

Kara walked over to him and jerked him up off the floor, holding him tight around his neck, then raised her fist back and swung at him hard knocking him back to the floor. " You know nothing about me!! " she yelled

When Kara finished, he lay there smiling at her " You belong to me Kara and one day we will be together just as God said we would " Leobon raised up a little " I know how your mother abused you and how she broke everyone of your fingers at the same time, and how often you were in the hospital, when you are with me I will treat you as you should be treated, and together we will share your destiny "

Kara had sat transfixed listening to the things he was saying about her. How did he know so much about her? How long have the cylons known about her? His words had made her mad, so she said " Start again " to the guards.

As he was being held under the water Kara's mind drifted back to her childhood and how terrible it had been. The guards finally got her attention and she motioned to raise him up. He fell to the floor again gasping. Kara ordered the guards out and sat back down waiting for Leobon to get up.

As soon as he sat down he began talking " All of this has happened before and all of it will happen again "

Kara felt drained " Don't quote scripture to me, you don't have the right to use those words "

Leobon continued " You kneel before your idols and ask for guidance, but you can't see that your destiny has already been written " He looked her in the eye " Your job is to deliver my soul to god and remember when I told you I had surprise for you,well here it is, you will find Kobol "

Kara was getting tired of his games " I don't believe you "

" You will, Kobol is the birthplace of us all and it will lead you to Earth " he said trying to get her to believe " This is my gift to you Kara " then he leaned in close to her " When it is time I will come for you "

* * *

Roslin walked in while they were staring at each other and saw that he had been tortured " What is going on in here?" when no on answered her, she walked out waiting for Starbuck to join her in the hallway.

Roslin waited until Kara stood before her " What exactly is it that you have been doing in there? "

Kara held her ground " My job, it is a machine, there are no limits to the things I can do to it "

" Where is the bomb?" Roslin asked agitated

" I don't know " Kara answered calmly

Roslin gave her a hard look and raised her voice " You don't know, you have spent the last six hours torturing this cylon and you don't have a single piece of information to show for it "

Kara stood her ground " He thinks he can see the future, says he knows our destiny and our fate, he also said we are going to find Kobol and that it would lead us to Earth "

" Clean him up and bring him out here, now " Roslin ordered

As soon as the guards brought him out Roslin ordered his restraints be removed and apologized to him for the way he was treated. " Tell me where the bomb is and I will let you live "

Leobon looked at her " There is no bomb, I just wanted to talk to Kara, don't be too hard on her, she was just doing her job " and then he grabbed Roslin and whispered " Adama is a cylon "

Roslin jumped back " Put him out the airlock "

Kara was surprised that Roslin had lied " You can't do that, he told you what you wanted to know "

Roslin looked at Kara " I can and I will "

Kara spoke to Roslin while watching Leobon being put in the airlock " He's not afraid to die, he's just worried that his soul won't make it to God "

Kara then walked up to the glass and watched as he was blown into space, she then left heading to her bunk room. When she got there she took her idols out and prayed for Leobon, she didn't know why she did it, she just felt like she should. She was still freaked out by how much Leobon had known about her. Kara wondered if all the cylons were that interested in her and did she really have a destiny.

She needed to forget about Leobon, so she headed to Lee's office. She needed to tell him that her pilots would be ready soon. She also wanted to tell him about the test flight with the raider tomorrow.

* * *

Lee sat without moving as he watched Kara with the cylon. Instead of answering her questions he told her how special she was and that she had a destiny. His dad had been right about Kara, she seemed to become a different person while dealing with the cylon. She seemed to enjoy watching the guards beat Leobon over and over. Lee was shocked to find out that Kara prayed to idols and even more shocked that Leobon knew which ones. Lee watched the guards leave to retrieve something that Kara wanted. While they were gone he watched in horror when the cylon broke free and attacked Kara. He was getting ready to go in there, when the guards showed up.

He watched as Kara used the bucket of water to torture Leobon with. Lee was amazed to hear the cylon talk about Kara's mother and how she had abused her. Then he said that her mom had told her that her life was a testament to pain and that she was a cancer that needed to be removed. He couldn't believe that a mother could tell her child that she was nothing but trouble and that she was bad luck. Through all of the water torture he only talked about Kara and her mom. At one point when Leobon said something about her mother, Kara went over and yanked him up off the floor and then raised her arm back and hit him so hard she knocked him back down to the floor and screamed at him. He wondered how many more forms of torture Kara knew about. He was stunned that the cylons seemed to know so much about her. He also wondered if his dad knew things about Kara's past. Lee began to wonder if there really was a bomb, because it seemed Leobon's only reason for being here was to meet Kara.

He got the impression that the cylons had been watching Kara since she was a child. Why would Kara be so important to the cylons, she was just a viper pilot and she definitely believed in the gods while they believed in one god. Lee got angry when he heard the cylon tell Kara that she belonged to him. He wondered why the cylon kept insisting that Kara had a destiny and it had already been written. Lee almost got up at one point to stop the torture, he was afraid that she might actually have him killed. Kara acted like it didn't faze her, he knew that she had never interrogated anyone before, so how did she know what to do. And she remained detached during the whole thing.

Lee heard the cylon tell Kara that they would find Kobol and it would lead them to Earth. He wondered if that was true, because his dad claimed to know the way to Earth. He knew that without a doubt that this cylon was obsessed with Kara. Lee wanted Kara to talk to him about the things the cylon had said. Maybe he should tell her that his father had ordered him to monitor the interrogation.

Lee wondered what Kara thought about how much the cylons knew about her. Then Lee heard the last thing he said to her " When it is time I will come for you " he knew now that Kara would always be in danger. After Roslin showed up, he got up and left the room he had been in. Lee went to his office to wait and see if Kara would come by. He needed to talk to her before he wrote up his report.

* * *

When she arrived at Lee's office she found him just sitting there doing nothing. " Did you catch up on all your paperwork Apollo?"

Lee looked at Kara as she stood there waiting for him to answer. " No, I'm just taking a break, have a seat. "

Kara sat down across from him " I wanted to let you know that I will be graduating my class day after tomorrow "

Lee noticed how tired she was. " Do you really think they are ready?"

" Of course they are, I would never pass them and send them out there, if I didn't think they were ready " Kara wondered why he would ask her that.

He leaned forward putting his elbows on his desk and placed his hands under his chin " We will have to make up a new pilot rotation " he said without much interest.

Kara thought Lee was acting strange, and wondered what could be wrong with him " I also wanted to tell you that I will be taking the raider out for a test run tomorrow "

" You will need a viper out there with you in case something goes wrong " Lee said giving her a certain look

Kara smirked " I know that and I was hoping you would be the one to go out with me "

He finally sat up then " I'll go out with you, I'm just surprised you want it to be me "

Kara looked at him oddly, wondering what the frak was wrong with him " Why would you think that, you are the only one I trust enough to watch my back out there "

" I thought with all the stuff we have been through lately, that you would ask someone else " he said quietly

Kara reached across the desk and grabbed his hand " I thought we agreed to try and be friends "

Lee started rubbing his thumb on her wrist " Kara, I want for us to be more than just friends "

Kara kept her hand in his " I do too Lee, but we need to wait "

Lee could feel himself getting angry so he pulled his hand back " How long should we wait Kara, you and I both know that each time we go out and fight the cylons we could be killed, as a matter of fact we both came close to it happening this past week!!? "

Kara knew Lee was right, but she wanted Adama to accept them. " I just don't think your dad wants us to be together, I think he was hoping that you and Dee would become a couple "

Lee stood up and walked around his desk pulling her up to face him " I don't think he cares who it is, as long as I have someone, he thinks I need to do more than just work all the time "

Kara reached for his hand wanting to touch him " I'm tired of being mad at him all the time Lee, I miss talking to him, but I don't think he thinks I am the right person for you "

Lee hugged her and then pulled back " I think you are wrong, you know if we had just told him about us from the beginning, we would not have gone through all this misery "

Kara looked into his blue eyes " After we are sure that we can be friends, then maybe we can tell him, but since we have done nothing but kiss, how can we be sure that there is more between us "

Lee smiled " I don't know how you feel, but somehow I believe that we are meant to be together "

Kara smirked at him " When did you start believing in fate?"

Lee shrugged " I don't know about fate, but I do believe in us "

Kara smiled " I care about you Lee, I just think we should wait, just to be sure "

Lee went to sit back down " Okay, I'll wait as long as I can, but if you don't hurry up and decide, I will tell dad with or without you "

She smirked " Is that an order Captain?" she was glad he was finally out of the weird mood he had been in when she first came in.

" If it helps, then yes it's an order " Lee said winking at her

Kara sat back down " Leobon freaked me out today "

Lee knew he had to tell her before she said anything else " Kara, I was there, the commander ordered me to monitor the interrogation "

Lee saw her tense up " I did not know anybody would be watching, least of all you "

Lee reached and grabbed her hand making her look at him " Kara, you know that I would never repeat anything before checking with you first "

" Thank you for that " Kara paused thinking about what to say next " I never wanted anyone to know about my childhood, especially you "

Lee squeezed her hand " Now that I know, if you ever want to talk about it I will listen, but why didn't you want me to know?"

Kara pulled her hand away from him " I didn't want you to know how damaged I am "

Lee made her look at him " Kara, you are not damaged, you are the strongest woman I have ever known, and I hate that you had a frakked up childhood "

Kara sat up straight " I don't want to talk about it or Leobon anymore tonight "

Lee thought about what Leobon had said " We will stop talking about it, but I need to say one thing first " at Kara's nod he continued " I heard Leobon tell you that when the time was right that he would come for you, and I need you to know that I will do whatever it takes to keep that from happening "

Kara could only nod because she was afraid she would start crying if she said anything. Somehow she knew Lee meant what he had said.

Lee gave her time to accept what he had said and changed the subject to take her mind off Leobon.

" Okay, how about we get your pilots worked into the rotation starting at the end of the week, since you think they are ready " Lee said giving her something else to think about.

Kara yawned " Let's do it tomorrow, I'm worn out and need some rack time "

Lee stood up " I'll walk with you back to your bunk room "

Kara glared at him " I don't need a babysitter Lee "

" I know that, I just wanted to spend some more time with you " he admitted

Kara smiled " Okay, since you put it that way "

Lee walked her to her room and really wanted to kiss her goodnight, but thought it might be to soon, so he settled for kissing her forehead "Goodnight Kara, do you want to run with me in the morning?"

" Sure, I haven't ran in a while " then she walked in and closed the hatch.

Lee went back to his office and Kara changed her clothes before falling into bed. It had turned out to be a long day.

* * *

When Kara woke up she hopped out of bed, and dressed in her running clothes. Lee was waiting for her when she stepped through the hatch. They both took the time to stretch before running. They ran side by side having to separate to let people through. After two laps they stopped a moment to drink water. " Why are you so quiet Lee?" he didn't want to tell her how worried he was about her.

" I am just enjoying being able to run with you again" then he took off getting the jump on her. " No fair Lee " she yelled as she got closer to him. When she finally caught up to him she ran by his side for a moment, waiting on an opportunity to pull ahead of him. They turned a corner and Lee ran into someone knocking them down. Lee got up and reached to pick up who he knocked down and saw that it was Dee, frak. Kara started laughing and took off running, leaving Lee alone with Dee.

" I'm sorry Dee, we weren't watching where we where going, plus there isn't usually anybody around this early " Dee straightened up her uniform " Looks like you and Starbuck are back together " Lee wanted to lie and say they were, but knew he couldn't " We are just friends, for now "

Dee smiled " Since we are friends maybe we can run together sometime " Lee absolutely didn't want to do that " Kara and I have a certain routine when we run, I gotta go, once again I'm sorry" and he took off, hoping to catch Kara.

Kara only went around the corner and stopped. She knew she could hear them from where she was. It sounded like Lee was having a hard time getting away from Dee. Kara couldn't believe that Dee had asked Lee to run with her and Lee could only come up with a lame ass excuse. Their routine consisted of them trying to out do each other and sometimes running close together so they could touch each other discreetly. Kara knew Lee was coming so she waited on him. When he turned the corner she grabbed him and kissed him, freaking him out a little bit. Then she pushed him away and took off running again.

By the time he caught up with her she was sitting on a box in the walkway. " I take it you enjoyed my unfortunate incident " he said as he sat down next to her. That made Kara start laughing, so she mocked him " Kara and I have a certain routine when we run, gods Lee couldn't you come up with something better than that? " Lee turned and looked at her " It worked didn't it, and by the way, what was that kiss all about?" Kara didn't know herself why she had done that. " I was making up for running off and leaving you stuck with Dee, it was the least I could do " Lee didn't believe her " So I guess it meant nothing, huh?" Kara got up " That's right " and off she went. Lee didn't bother with trying to catch her again. He knew that the kiss meant more, but Kara would never admit it.

Today she would be putting her pilots through their last flight maneuvers. If they all passed they would be ready to graduate and become pilots. Kara was not worried, she knew they were ready. For two hours she ran them through every drill that she could think of. Now that they were through she was going to have them make combat landings. This was the one thing that she was worried about. She knew the chief had cleared the landing strip.

Kara sent Kat in first and watched as she landed with a little difficulty. Chuckles went next and almost missed the trap,but at least he landed without damaging his viper. Kara sent Hotdog in next, he landed almost perfectly. Then JoJo, Crashdown and Pike landed with no problems. She was amazed at how easily those three had switched from raptors to vipers. Kara landed after that and got out, hearing them all talking excitedly. She walked over to them and they lined up in front of her, ready to listen to what she had to say.

Kara stood there a minute making them wait. " I am proud to announce that you all passed and tomorrow you will officially be put into the pilot rotation. " she paused letting that sink in with them " Take the rest of the day off, but be ready bright and early in the morning, also from now on you will be reporting to the CAG." They started talking again as she left, excited about being viper pilots.

Kara turned back around to tell them one last thing " Before you leave you need to go over your flight list with a crew member " she paused " and make sure you show up for your graduation ceremony in the morning "

As Kara walked away she could hear the excitement in their voices. Kara was proud of herself for turning them into pilots, she might have enjoyed teaching at the academy.

*********************************************************************************************************************Now Now that her instructor job was over, she headed to where the raider was kept. She had one hour before she was going to fly the raider, she wondered if the chief had told the commander. As she waited she went over the raider one more time, making sure that there would be no problems.

The chief showed up and told her that a lot of people would be watching from the observation room. " Where is Apollo?" Kara asked

" He is in his viper, he will be launching before you " chief said as he ran his hands along the outside of the raider " You know if this works out we will have a small advantage over the cylons "

Kara grinned at the chief " Don't worry, everything will work out "

" Then let's get you loaded in, it's almost time " he reminded her

Kara got excited as she crawled inside the raider. The chief had shut the bottom hatch, and she listened as Apollo was shot out of the tube. Kara didn't need a tube, because the raider hovered. " Apollo get ready, I am about to fly this thing out "

Lee was nervous, he hoped nothing went wrong " I'm ready Starbuck " he had shut most of his systems down while waiting on her to come out.

Kara managed to hover the raider and then she took off out of the Galactica. " Here I come Apollo "

Lee watched as she came out of the Galactica. He turned all of his systems back on ready to follow her. " After you get used to it we need to fly by the observation room "

It took Kara a couple of minutes to get used to it " I'm ready Apollo, let's see what this thing can do "

Kara took off flying fast and flew away from the Galactica. " See if you can keep up Apollo " she said laughing

Lee took off after her and when he caught up with her they flew side by side back to the Galactica. Kara had gotten used to it, so she decided to try a few tricks to see what it could do. She had only seen them in combat, but she knew they were capable of making sharp turns. She flipped end over end to see if she could do it in the raider like she did in her viper. They were approaching the observation room, so she pulled in close to Apollo.

She looked over at Lee " Do you think it can do barrel rolls?"

Lee looked at her like she was crazy " I don't remember ever seeing them do that "

Kara winked at him " Maybe they never thought about it " Since Kara was flying on Lee's left side she started rolling out away from him and managed three rolls before she had to level it off.

"Starbuck , be careful, until you are sure you can handle it " Lee yelled at her

" Hey, I wonder what would happen if I pushed this jump button " she was not really going to do it, she was just playing around with Lee.

"Don't Starbuck, you could end up anywhere and never be able to get back home and that's an order " Lee wanted her to land before she came up with some crazy ass stunt.

" Fine, I won't jump away, but let's fly for a while " Kara hoped he would agree.

Lee sighed " Fine, but let's make a couple of passes by the observation room, first "

" Okay, I will race you there " Kara said laughing and she took off.

It ended up being a close race, but Kara won. They flew a few maneuvers for the people watching them from the observation room, then took off heading far away from the fleet. For the next forty minutes they flew free and tried out several several different moves. They were having fun and then the commander ordered them to come back in.

When they landed they saw a lot of people waiting on them. When they got out of the viper and the raider several people started clapping and tried to talk to them. Everyone was excited about having an enemy ship that they could fly. Kara looked over at Lee and motioned that she was going to leave and he followed her out shortly.

They met up in his office and Lee pulled out a couple of glasses and poured them a drink. " This calls for a toast "

" You do it, I'm not used to making toasts " Kara said waiting to take a swallow of her drink.

Lee raised his glass " Here's to us, may we always be there for each other "

Kara looked at him oddly trying to figure out what exactly he meant by that, then raised her glass and clinked it against his.

Just as they finished there drink Kara got a call over the intercom " Lt. Thrace you have a ship to ship call, I think it is important "

Lee looked at Kara strangely " Who do you know that would call you ship to ship?"

" I don't know Lee " she put her glass down and used the phone in Lee's office " This is Lt. Thrace, who is calling?"

" It's me Mark, you haven't forgotten me already have you?" he asked her

" I have been pretty busy, is something wrong?" she asked him

" No, I realize that you were just over here, but as a friend there is something I need to talk to you about, and I promise to feed you if you can come over " Kara did not know what to do, she knew Lee could hear her.

" When do you need me to come over?" Kara asked glancing at Lee

" Tonight if it is possible, I have the night off " Mark told her

Kara knew she couldn't not go see him. " I'll be there, just tell me what time and where "

" How about seven at my restaurant " Mark said

Kara knew Lee was listening " I'll be there, unless something important comes up "

Kara hung up and turned around to face Lee. How could she explain this to him. She knew Lee would be jealous and feel betrayed. Maybe now he would understand how she had felt about him and Dee.

Lee knew he needed to tread carefully, but he couldn't help but feel worried about the call " Who was that and what did they want?"

Kara thought about what to say " That was Mark, I met him when I went to Cloud Nine, he needs to talk to me about something "

Lee didn't say anything for a moment " Is he the reason you just want to be friends with me?"

Kara walked over to stand in front of him and made him look at her " No Lee, Mark and I are just friends, nothing else "

" Are you sure about that Kara?" he asked, silently hoping that she was telling the truth

Kara reached up and held his face in both her hands and looked into his eyes " I'm sure Lee, you are going to have to trust me about this " then she kissed him hoping that he would believe her.

Lee took advantage of the situation and kissed her long and thoroughly, knowing that he had just crossed the friendship line " When do I get to meet your new friend?"

" Soon, but first I need to find out what he wants " she said as she stepped back from him " I think the two of you will like each other, he seems to be a nice guy "

Lee felt a little better about it " What does Mark do?"

" He owns one of the restaurants on Cloud Nine " Kara said, pleased that Lee seemed to believe her

" Where did you meet him?" Lee needed to know

Kara decided to go with the truth " In a bar, but nothing happened, thanks to Mark, you see I was upset over seeing you with Dee, so I went looking for someone to frak to help me forget about you and Dee "

Lee could understand that " What did Mark have to do with it?"

Kara smiled " I made a play for him and I thought we were going to his room, instead he took me to his restaurant and fed me, so I would sober up"

Lee seemed interested, so she continued her story " After we ate and I sobered up, we decided to just be friends, he said he knew that I was drinking to forget about someone and it would have been a mistake if we had fraked, because I would regret it the next morning and he was right. After that I knew for sure that we would be friends "

Lee nodded and relaxed " He sounds like a good guy, will you stop by when you get back?"

Kara thought about it, she realized they were moving past just friends, maybe too fast " If it's not to late "

" I don't care how late it is, wake me up " he said, she left saying that she might stop by.

* * *

Kara left Lee's office to go take a shower and get dressed in civilian clothes. Kara pulled out her only pair of black jeans and a silky green top that was cut low, but not to low. After all she was just having dinner with a friend. After she finished getting ready she realized that she was still wound up from flying the raider. Kara still had plenty of time before she needed to leave for Cloud Nine, so she decided to go check on the raider.

When she made it to where the raider was being kept she noticed several people around the raider. She saw Adama, President Roslin and Gaeta talking to Chief Tyrol. They noticed her, so she knew she couldn't just walk away. She slowly walked over and joined them.

" What's going on Chief?" Kara asked one of the only people she wished to speak with.

Gaeta spoke up " I was wondering if we could program it to make jumps the same way we do with the fleet ships "

Kara liked that idea " Do you think you can do it?"

Gaeta smiled " I don't see why I couldn't "

" How long would it take you to get it ready?" Adama asked

" It should take no longer than a day or two " Gaeta answered as he continued to check out the raider.

Adama looked at Kara " Do you think you could teach someone else how to fly it?"

" I'm not sure, I have only flown it once myself " she answered without looking at him

Gaeta spoke up again " We need to put a colonial transponder in it "

" That's a good idea, I want the three of you to work on it, and try to have it ready in two days " Adama ordered them to more or less

The chief finally looked at Kara " Why are you so dressed up Starbuck, do you have a date?"

Kara ignored the looks she was getting from Roslin and Adama " No, I have plans to meet a friend for dinner "

Adama smiled at her " I'm glad you are doing something besides just working, I wish Lee would follow your example "

Kara changed the subject before it could go any further " Commander, I will be graduating my class in the morning, in the pilots briefing room, you should drop by and say something to them "

" I will " Adama looked at Kara's clothes once more " Starbuck have you been cleared to go off ship?"

Kara stood straight and held her head up " Yes Sir, Apollo knows that I am leaving "

Adama still felt that something was wrong between him and Kara, she acted like she had to force herself to speak to him " Good, I hope you enjoy yourself "

Roslin who had been silent the whole time spoke " I would like to congratulate Lt. Thrace and Chief Tyrol on a job well done " even though she was still upset with Kara.

Chief Tyrol was beaming with pride " Thank you Madame President "

They all turned around when they heard someone approaching. It was Lee, but he was only looking at Kara. He stopped when he reached them "You look beautiful Kara "

Kara looked away pretending to look at the raider, so they would not see her blushing " Thank you Apollo "

Then he addressed the rest of them " What's going on?"

Gaeta explained everything to him.

Lee noticed that Kara had turned back toward them " I want first chance at learning to fly the raider, Starbuck "

She smirked " Like you did not already know that I would choose you "

" I just had to make sure " Lee said chuckling " Isn't it time for you to leave?"

Kara grabbed his arm and looked at his watch " Yes, and I still need to find someone to give me a lift "

Lee smiled " I'm off, so I can take you, and I can pick you up when you are ready to come back "

Kara looked at him " When did you become so gallant?"

" I couldn't leave a beautiful woman having to fend for herself, now could I " he said chuckling

" With an offer like that how can I refuse, let's go or I will be late" Kara said looking at just him, so she could ignore Adama and Roslin

Lee offered her his arm and was shocked when she took it, they started walking away when Lee remembered there were other people standing there and turned back to glance at them " Good night everyone " Kara didn't say anything, she was still reeling from Lee calling her beautiful and offering her a ride to Cloud Nine.

After they walked away Adama said " That was strange, I have never seen Kara or Lee act like that, you think she was telling the truth when she said she was meeting a friend "

Roslin snorted " Yes, otherwise Apollo would have never offered her a ride "

" What do you mean, they are friends, that's why he offered to give her a lift " Adama said confused

The chief agreed with Roslin, but kept his mouth shut.

* * *

On the ride over to Cloud Nine Lee kept looking at Kara, he couldn't help it.

" See something you like Apollo?" she teased him

" I do and the longer I look at you, all I want to do is kidnap you, instead of dropping you off " Lee said looking at her again

Kara played along with him " Where could you take me, there's no where to go? "

" I could tie you up and keep you in a part of the Galactica where no one ever goes " he said in a serious voice.

Kara looked over at him " Gods, you sound almost serious about it, is it something you have thought of before?"

Lee winked at her " I'll never tell "

Before Kara could come up with a response they were docking on Cloud Nine.

Lee watched her get out " I'm serious about picking you up, so call me "

Kara looked at him thinking about staying with him instead of meeting Mark. " You don't have to do that Lee "

Lee gave her a stern look " I mean it Kara and besides we don't know what the cylons might have planned "

Kara silently agreed with him and was glad he would be picking her up " Fine Lee, I will call you, now go "

Lee waited until she got inside before leaving.

* * *

( Leave a comment )


	16. Chapter 16

A Different Beginning-Chapter 16

AU and it starts at the mini-series. I am writing this solo and I apologize for any mistakes.

Sorry I took so long getting back to this story. My computer crashed and I lost some chapters and notes. Anyhow for better or worse here is an update.

Chapter-16

As Kara was walking toward the restaurant her thoughts drifted back to Lee. She knew that she would have to slow things down with her and Lee. Kara had made a lot of mistakes in her past and she did not want to mess things up with Lee. In the past she would have already frakked him and moved on, but she knew Lee was not just anybody. Kara had never felt this way about anyone in her life, as a matter of fact the only person she ever loved was her father and she still thought sometimes that he left because of her. Kara shook that thought away because she knew in her heart that her dad had loved her. She knew that she should not feel something like love for Lee already since she just met him two months ago, but damned if she didn't. Kara paused as she reached the doors to the restaurant and looked inside. After scanning the room she saw Mark talking to someone at the entrance to the kitchen, but she could not see the other person. Kara could tell by Marks stance and gestures that the conservation was serious, just then he turned and saw her and quickly finished talking and headed her way.

As Mark was making his way towards Kara he was trying to remember everything his friend had said . Mark trusted his friend and would do what he asked even though he did not like the fact he would be basically trying to give and get information from Kara. Mark shook away his thoughts and smiled as he approached Kara. " Hey, I'm glad you were able to make it, come on in our table is ready " he gestured for her to follow him.

Kara waited until they sat down " Well you did say you needed to talk to me, here I am, so talk "

Mark laughed " Are you always so blunt? "

Kara drew in a breath " Sorry, it has been a long day and will be an even longer one tomorrow "

" That's okay I know your job is demanding and your right I do need to talk to you, but I thought we could enjoy our meal first if that is okay with you " he asked while smiling which made Kara relax

Kara smiled back " Should I order or have you already planned our meal, I mean it's okay if you did I trust you as long as it's not another omelet " she laughed

Mark signaled a waiter " I think you will be pleased, we are having two of the few steaks left in the universe, I just need to know how you would like it cooked "

Kara gasped " You have got to be frakking kidding me, a steak really " at his nod she continued " In that case I'll have it medium well "

Mark relayed instructions to the waiter and ordered two glasses of red wine after checking with Kara. Once their wine was brought Kara asked "So how long have you owned this restaurant ? "

That question made Mark think of his friend " I starting working here about five years ago and after two years me and a friend of mine bought it "

Kara felt herself relaxing even more, she knew she should suspect anyone of being a cylon, but somehow she knew she could trust that Mark was not one. " So that is how you came to survive the cylon attacks against our home worlds "

Mark just nodded he did not want to talk about that yet " So tell me about the guy you were drinking to forget when I met you, is there still something going on? "

Kara blushed a little bit " It's complicated "

Mark shrugged his shoulders " So, tell me about it " he paused " Isn't that what friends are supposed to do, tell each other things "

Kara thought about it and realised that if Helo was still alive she would have been able to talk to him about it, so what could it hurt to tell Mark a little bit about it. It wasn't likely that he would ever come to the Galactica or talk to the pilots about anything she said. " Well first you would have to understand how the military feels about frat regulations, even though they recently relaxed them, they still feel some relationships should not happen " Kara's thoughts quickly jumped to Adama, she wished she knew why he thought Lee should be with Dee.

After taking a drink of his wine mark put his glass down " So I take this guy is military also "

Kara snorted " Not just military, he is also a pilot who happens to be my CAG, wing-man and the son of Commander Adama " she paused a second to collect her thoughts " I was on the Galactica for a year before the attacks and first met Lee when he came for the decommissioning ceremony for the Galactica " Kara laughed " You know at first I don't think he even liked me very much and then the attacks came and as some of the few pilots and officers left we were thrown together just trying to survive and somewhere along the way we became close fast "

Mark raised his eyebrows " That sounds intense, so are you guys together ?"

It was Kara's turn to take a drink before continuing " We have decided to try to be friends and take things slow " Kara laughed again " I think the only way we are going to be able to manage that is never to be alone together anywhere "

That comment caused Mark to laugh " That bad, huh ?"

Kara smiled remembering the ride over " He gave me a ride over here and talked about kidnapping me and keeping me to himself "

When she said that he had to ask " Do you trust him ? "

Kara looked at him kinda funny wondering why he would ask that about Lee and then remembered what she said " He was kidding " when he made no comment she gave him a stern look " Lee is the only person besides the commander that I trust with my life "

Mark nodded okay, but could not help pointing out " You did just meet him, so how can you be so sure?"

Kara sat up straight and glared at him then " I just do, now drop it before you piss me off "

Mark was happy to let it drop and if his friend wanted to know more he would have to ask her himself " I'm sorry, I guess I find it hard to trust someone that much after what happened to all of us "

Kara decided to let it go " So, what about you, do you have someone in your life "

Mark sighed " I had a serious girlfriend, but she died in the attacks, she was on Picon at the time "

" I'm sorry Mark " that was all Kara could think to say

Mark looked at her " What about you, did you lose anyone ?"

Kara shook her head " Not on the home worlds no, the only family I had to lose was the pilots and crewman we lost during and since the cylons showed up, one was my best friend "

Before anything else could be said the waiter showed up with their meals and they ate in mostly silence speaking a little here and there about their meal.

[BREAK]

Lee had gone back to his office after dropping Kara off. He decided to catch up on some paperwork until she called. Lee had only been back a little over half an hour when he was paged to go to the commanders office. Lee finished up and put his paperwork up before heading there, he knew somehow that whatever his father wanted was personal. Lee stood outside the hatch a moment and mentally prepared himself before knocking on the hatch.

Adama had been waiting on Lee so he did not hesitate before getting up and opening the hatch. He could have called out for him to enter, but he needed to get up for a minute. He knew trying to talk to Lee would be a mental battle given how stubborn Lee could be. Adama pulled the hatch open " Come in Lee, I was just getting a drink, do you want one?"

Ordinarily Lee would not have a drink before flying, but since it was a raptor and not a viper and he now knew for sure it was personal he needed one " Just one, I have to pick Kara up soon "

Adama finished pouring the drinks and motioned for Lee to sit on the sofa as he sat down in his chair putting Lee's drink on the table. " Speaking of Kara, that is what I want to talk to you about "

Lee was reaching for his drink, but stopped " Dad I don't think we should talk about Kara unless it is professional "

Adama never thought Lee would outright refuse to discuss Kara. He needed to make sure what he said next would not make Lee more defensive. " I am only asking because I am worried about her and she acts like she can't stand to be in the same space that I am in and she has never acted like this before "

Lee sighed and picked up his drink, after taking a swallow he looked at his dad " Look you need to find a way to talk to her yourself, because whatever it is, it's between the two of you and I would rather stay out of it "

Adama put his drink down with force onto the tabletop " Fine you want professional we will do professional" he got up and went to his desk and grabbed a file and brought it back and threw it on the table between him and Lee " Tell me what you left out of the report regarding Kara's interrogation of the cylon Leobon "

Lee did not need the report to remember what he left out, but he promised Kara he would not put it all in there " Everything you need to know is in the report " he said calmly

Adama sat down and snatched his drink back " You are lying about something that went on in that room Lee "

Lee did not twitch " Prove it "

Adama threw his glass across the room and sat forward in his chair and growled out at Lee " I have known Kara a hell of a lot longer than you and something is not right with her and I want to know what it is and you are going to tell me what you know "

Lee thought Kara was mad at his dad about Dee and how he felt about them, but it was not his place to tell his dad that. He figured he would try another way to maybe appease his dad " How much do you know about Kara before she came to the Galactica?"

Adama watched Lee for a moment before answering " If you are talking about her childhood then enough "

Lee was not stupid " How do you know, did she tell you?"

Adama sighed " Her medical reports kinda of tell a story, I just filled in the rest on my own "

Lee just shook his head " It is not my story to tell "

Adama leaned back in his chair this was getting him nowhere " Fine then tell me what is going on with the two of you and do not say nothing, I saw the two of you before you left the hangar deck "

Frak, Lee thought he wished Kara would hurry up and call " Right now we are just friends and I gave her a lift to Cloud Nine to have dinner with a friend of hers "

Adama sighed catching the way Lee phrased his answer " Lee are you and Kara thinking about having a relationship?"

Lee shrugged his shoulders " Maybe, why would that bother you ?"

Adama could not seem to stop sighing " Gods Lee, you and Kara spend so much time together professionally how in the hell are you supposed to be able to maintain a personal relationship?"

It was Lee's turn to sigh " I don't know dad, but we can't stop what is happening between us and right now we are really just friends " He decided to give his dad a clue " It would probably make things a lot easier between us if we both felt you did not think we weren't good enough for each other "

Adama stood up becoming frustrated with Lee's half- assed remarks " What the frak are you talking about Lee?"

Lee thought enough was enough, he just hoped Kara didn't kill him if she found out what he was going to say, but he knew his dad was getting madder by the second " When Kara and I met you in this office you practically threw Dee at me making Kara think she wasn't good enough for me and then you told me you wanted the best for Kara which made me think I wasn't good enough for her, now do you understand?" he said standing also and started pacing " Oh and for the icing on the cake Kara found out about the dinner you planned for me and Dee "

Adama stood still trying to process everything Lee had just said and finally turned to face Lee " So Kara is mad at me about all of that and Dee?" Adama thought the attacks had changed Kara, but apparently it was because of his son. He never thought that Kara and Lee would be attracted to each other personally, because they react to things so differently.

Lee shrugged " Kara didn't say, but I think she thought you were replacing her with Dee in your life and mine, and if you repeat all of this to Kara she will kill me and you will have to lock her up on the Astral Queen and I am not joking "

Adama went back to his chair and sat down " Have a seat Lee, we need to figure out what to do, because you are right about Kara getting mad if she finds out what we talked about "

Lee sat down " First let me say this, I will try and get Kara to tell you more about Leobon because I promised her I would not say anything, it is Kara's personal business so therefore it has to come from her "

Adama nodded " As long as it does not put the fleet in danger "

Lee knew it could, but he still wasn't saying anything else about it " What about the rest of it?"

Adama thought for a minute " I guess I have to earn her trust back and somehow let her know how much she means to me, as for you and Kara Lee I have no idea, but I guess I should leave that between the two of you "

Lee let out a deep breath " Thanks and no more trying to set either of us up with other people "

Adama laughed " I have learned my lesson and if the two of you can make it work I will be happy for you, but your jobs come first "

Lee grinned " We both know that, don't worry "

Adama was getting ready to say something else when Lee was paged over the comm " Captain Adama there is a ship to ship call for you "

Lee got up to use his dad's phone.

After he finished speaking to Kara he turned back to face his dad " I have to go pick up Kara " Lee took a step towards the hatch and paused "Dad I'm sorry if I came between you and Kara, but I can't and won't stop whatever is happening between us "

Adam cleared his throat needing to ask Lee something else, he just hoped Lee wouldn't take it the wrong way " Lee are you sure that what you feel is not just the effects of our worlds ending and you and Kara spending so much time together has you both not thinking clearly?"

Lee thought about it " That is probably some of it, but I can't picture my life without Kara in it now " he chuckled " Actually until I met Kara I had no idea how dull my life was, whatever is between us it is very intense "

Adama stood up to walk with him to the hatch " You don't have to explain it to me Lee, when Kara came to the Galactica she came with a bolt of energy which was just what this ship needed "

Lee nodded " I'll see you in the morning for the pilots graduation "

After Lee left Adama went to his desk to put the folder up and went back over everything Lee had said. He hoped Kara would talk to him about Leobon because he had a feeling that things with the Leobon model was far from over.

[BREAK]

Kara waited until the dishes had been picked up from their table before speaking " I enjoyed the meal Mark, but if we are going to talk we need to do it now, I have to get up early tomorrow "

Mark stood up and reached for her hand " Let's take a walk outside while we talk "

Kara nodded and stood up " I need to make a call before we head outside I have someone picking me up " Kara paused " How long do you think it will be "

Mark lead her towards the phone " Thirty minutes should be fine "

Kara placed the call to Lee and let him know she would be outside with Mark talking and should be ready in half an hour. After that she walked outside with Mark.

At first they just walked while they took in the fake scenery. Kara figured it was better than nothing, she waited on Mark to start talking and when he remained silent she asked " Will you be going to the Colonial Day Dance since it will be held here on Cloud Nine?"

Mark smiled he knew he had been stalling and was learning that Kara could not stay quiet for long. " After I get off work and I will expect a dance from you "

Kara laughed at that " Somehow I don't think you will have a problem finding women to dance with you " she bumped his shoulder " So are you going to tell me why you needed to see me?"

Mark stopped and waited till she stopped and faced him " I wanted to ask you about a rumor I heard " Kara nodded so he continued " Is it true that the cylons look like us?"

For a second Kara was caught off guard this was not what she was expecting " I don't have clue " she lied

Mark nodded he didn't really expect her to tell him the truth anyway " That's okay I just thought with you being in the military you might know "

Kara looked around before commenting " I'm afraid I am not high enough up the chain of command to know something like that, but even if I did I'm sorry Mark but I could neither confirm nor deny it "

Mark held up his hands " It's okay Kara I heard it from a pretty good source so even if you don't know anything about it just be careful who you trust "

Now he had Kara wondering why the frak this seemed so important to him " Who told you this Mark?"

Mark shook his head " I won't tell you that Kara, but I can tell you that we are not spreading the rumor and as your friend I just wanted you to be aware "

Kara chuckled a little bit to cover her confusion " This was what you wanted to see me about "

Mark nodded again " I wanted to know if the military was aware and if not I wanted you to know about it "

Kara was still puzzled " I'll check into it Mark but hopefully it is just a rumor " she just wanted this weird conservation to end and she felt like they were being watched.

Mark nodded and changed the subject " Come on I'll walk with you down to the docking bay " after they started he asked " So when do I get to meet Lee?"

Kara suddenly wanted Lee to meet Mark considering what he wanted to see her about " In a few minutes if you want, he is the one picking me up"

As they stood and waited on the raptor Mark needed to find a way of letting Kara know that he only wanted to warn her about the cylons for her own safety even though he was not entirely sure why his friend wanted him to. Frak he thought, he needed to get some answers if he was going to have to keep up this friendship with Kara. The thing was that he really liked having her as a friend. " Listen Kara about before with the thing about the cylons I really just wanted to give you a heads up " he paused " I really believe it may be true, so just be careful, okay "

Kara watched him carefully as he spoke and in her gut she did not feel like he was a threat. Maybe Lee could tell her what he thought after she introduced them " Okay I will " Kara needed to lighten the mood " I'm not sure you ever told me your last name "

Mark smiled " It's Rivers "

Kara smirked as she caught sight of Lee approaching " Well Mark Rivers here comes Lee Adama "

Mark turned and watched the raptor land smoothly " He's good "

Kara hip checked him " Yeah, but I'm better "

Mark was glad to see that she seemed less serious now " Should I ask Lee who is better?"

Kara just shrugged " Sure, knock yourself out "

Mark laughed at that " Your cocky as well as blunt I see "

Kara straightened when she saw Lee heading towards them " I tend to just say what I think, believe me I have been accused of worse things "

Mark figured he could be friends with Kara a long time and never truly understand everything about her. However he did not miss the change in her when she laid eyes on Lee. She might not know it or want to admit it but she was falling in love with this Lee person. Mark pulled his eyes from Kara to watch Lee walking towards them. Mark doubted if Lee was even that much aware of him because he only had eyes for Kara and was grinning from ear to ear. Mark felt like time suspended for a moment as he heard and watched the two of them " Kara " and then " Lee " they barely breathed for that moment in time.

Finally Mark cleared his throat and watched them jump as if they had been caught doing something illegal. He laughed as Kara fumbled for a second.

Frak, Kara thought when she heard Mark and remembered where she was " Mark Rivers meet Lee Adama "

Lee shook himself mentally, Kara in that outfit was driving him insane, he might have to kidnap her, at least for tonight anyway. Lee finally shook Mark's hand " It's nice to meet you Mark, did Kara behave herself?"

Mark laughed when he saw Kara throw Lee a look " You too Lee and yeah she ate all vegetables and everything " he liked Lee already and hoped to be around them some more just to watch him push her buttons.

Kara stepped between them " Okay that's enough with the childish cracks about me " and then she looked at Lee and gave him that shit eating grin " I had a steak Lee and it was so good "

Lee gasped " No you didn't " he looked at Mark " Did she?"

Mark couldn't help but laugh again, it seems Kara likes to push Lee's buttons also " Yeah she did, I treated her to one of the few left in our universe apparently "

Kara stuck her tongue out at Lee " I told you so "

Lee puts his hands on his hips " Don't forget I am your way home tonight, you might want to be nice to me "

Kara mirrored his stance " I'm a pilot to remember Lee?"

As much as Mark was enjoying watching them he needed to get back inside " Come by the restaurant the next time your off Lee and we will have dinner, I can't offer you a steak, but I'm sure I can whip up something worth eating "

Kara spoke up " What about me, do I get to come too? "

Lee reached for her wrist getting ready to head to the raptor " Thanks Mark I will and no Kara you can't come you'll be working"

Mark chuckled as he walked away hearing Kara say " How the frak do you know I'll be working when you don't even know when your coming back to eat here?" and Lee answered " I just do, now let's go home Kara "

Mark knew now that there was no way the two of them would remain just friends and he would almost be willing to bet his restaurant that they would not last the week. Frak from the sparks coming off of them they might not make it off the raptor. Now he needed to go find some answers to some questions that he now had regarding his friend and Kara.


	17. Chapter 17

A Different Beginning-Chapter 17

AU and it starts with the mini-series. Also I am writing this solo and I am sorry for any mistakes.

Chapter-17

After they entered the raptor Lee closed the hatch and grabbed Kara before she could sit down. She let out a gasp as he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close and whispered " I am going to kiss you Kara " and before she could react he did just that. At first Kara thought about stopping him, but she figured one little kiss should be okay. Okay she thought seconds later when Lee went from a gentle kiss to an almost all out assault on her mouth definitely more than a little kiss. Kara moaned then gave in and kissed him just as intensely. After what was probably only a couple of minutes, but felt like a lot longer Kara pulled back and placed a hand on his chest while she caught her breath. " What the frak has gotten into you Lee?"

Lee who was breathing heavily smiled " It's that damn outfit you have on, it is driving me crazy "

Kara had actually forgotten how she was dressed, so she smirked at him " Lee as much as I enjoyed that I still want to take things slow "

Lee had to ask " Is it because of dad?"

Kara shook her head " Not really, it's because I don't want to frak up things between us by moving to fast, you mean too much to me "

Lee reached for her hand " As long as you are not giving up on us I suppose we can try to slow things down, but Kara I can't promise that I won't try and kiss you again "

Kara grinned at him and squeezed his hand " I hope you do cause I didn't say stop I said slow " she winked at him and let his hand go so she could sit down " Take me home Lee "

After they took off Lee asked " What did Mark want to see you about?"

Kara knew he wasn't jealous and that the question was valid " I"ll tell you about it when we get back to the Galactica, but first what did you think about him?"

Lee glanced over at her " What do you mean Kara?"

Kara looked at him " I mean your first impression of him, what was it?" later he would know why she wanted to know

Lee shrugged " He seemed like a regular guy and he was nice, why did something happen tonight?"

Kara shook her head " No, we'll talk about it later "

Lee looked her up and down, his eyes lingering on the silky green top she was wearing " If you want to talk you are going to have to change your clothes first, otherwise I will not be held responsible for what might happen "

Kara laughed out loud " My gods Lee, fine I'll change and meet you in your office "

They were coming up on the Galactica so they quit talking while Lee landed. Kara unhooked her harness and left the raptor before Lee could grab her again, she didn't trust herself anymore than she trusted Lee at this point. As she jumped down off the raptor she could hear Lee chuckling and saying " Yeah you better run " Kara turned and stuck her tongue out at him before she took off.

[BREAK]

Back on Cloud Nine Mark headed to his office knowing his friend would be waiting on him. What he had been asked to do sounded strange in the first place and now after getting to know Kara a little bit it seemed stranger. He thought back to the night his friend cornered him in his office, quickly explaining that he needed to go to the bar. Telling him that there was a woman in the bar he needed him to meet if at all possible and he would explain later. The next day he found out very little, his friend had only told him that it was important for him to get close to Kara Thrace. When Mark continued to question him further, he told him his suspicions about the cylons and that Kara needed to be made aware of it. His friend told him he would explain more later.

Well, now it was later and Mark needed some answers. Somehow Mark knew he wouldn't get answers to all his questions, but his friend was going to have to give him some kind of explanation if he wanted him to continue getting close to Kara.

Just as Mark thought, when he entered the office, he was waiting on him. Mark took the chair on the other side of the desk and waited for his friend to speak.

After pushing a drink over to him his friend asked " So, did she know about the cylons?"

Mark could only give him his impression of things " I think so even though she denied it, she is military after all "

" What about the guy who picked her up, do you think he can be trusted?" he asked

Mark looked at him " How do you know about that?"

The man shrugged " I was watching, so what do you think about the commanders son?"

Mark gave him a strange look " How do you know who he was?"

" I know a lot of things " he said before taking a drink " I'll ask you again, do you think he can be trusted in regards to Kara?"

Mark had to chuckle at that, remembering Kara's reaction to him asking that question " She let me know in no uncertain terms that she trusted him with her life and to back the frak off " he thought a minute " Kara actually said she trusted only Lee and the commander with her life "

The man shook his head " I thought as much, you know I actually thought you might be interested in more than a friendship with her "

Mark shrugged " I might have thought about it, but after hearing her talk about Lee and meeting him I'm fairly certain he might kill someone if they tried to come between him and Kara " he took a drink " Since I like being alive I'll just stick with being her friend, besides I liked Lee also after meeting him"

They sat in silence a minute and Mark decided to ask some questions " What is so important about Kara and what do you know about her?"

The man groaned, he knew this was coming " Look Mark, I can't tell you a lot and mostly it's for your own safety as much as Kara's " he put his drink down " It is imperative that Kara is protected if humanity has any chance of surviving and finding a place to call home again " he stood up "You have to trust me on this, you are the only link I have to being any help to Kara right now and you can't tell anyone about me not even Kara, especially Kara "

Mark had been watching his friend as he spoke and knew he was stressed out about something " Wow, if what you're saying is true I feel sorry for the burden she has, even if she doesn't know about it " as his friend sat back down Mark needed to ask him something else " I would ask you why she is so important to humanity, but I know you won't tell me, so instead I'll ask you if you are a cylon "

The man looked straight at Mark when he answered " No I'm not "

Mark didn't think so, but it made him wonder how he knew about the cylons " Okay, is Kara a cylon?" he held his breath

" No she is not " he said

Even though they had known each other for five years and Mark trusted his friend he decided to ask another question, just to be sure " Is your name really Adam?"

" Yes, now are you through with the questions Mark, because I would like to get back to talking about Kara and the Adama's?"

Adam knew he had not answered everything truthfully, but he couldn't take a chance with so much at stake. He knew Mark would start asking him things and even though he trusted him there was only so much he would tell him for now.

Mark sighed " I'm sorry about all that, it's just I don't understand why you can't do this yourself "

Adam nodded his head in understanding " I am not sure who I can trust right now or who might recognize me, until then we will just have to do it this way, if you are still willing to help "

Mark nodded " As long as it is about Kara's safety you can count on me, although I can't really believe all of humanity's hope hangs on Kara, she is just one person "

Adam sighed " Believe me I wish it didn't, so did you make plans to see her again?"

Mark refilled his glass wondering what the connection was between Adam, Kara and the cylons. " Not really, I invited Lee to stop by the next time he had some time off for dinner, but I will see her at the Colonial Day dance later this week " Mark soon had another thought " If Kara is so important and with you being the only one that seems to have a clue about what is happening, then doesn't that make you important also?"

Adam sighed and took a minute before answering " In a way I am, at least in terms of preparing Kara, but my importance is secondary to hers "

Mark sat forward " Preparing her, what does that mean? "

Frak, Adam thought, I should not have said it like that " I just meant when the time comes she will have to know everything in order to carry out her destiny "

Mark jumped on that " Her destiny, what the frak does that mean?"

Adam needed to stop this conversation with Mark, it was getting out of hand, so he stood up to go " It is Kara's destiny to help the human race and I am not going to say anything else about it right now " Adam paused before he opened the office door and faced Mark once more " Thanks for helping me Mark and I promise to try and explain things better once I gather some more information "

Mark could only nod " Goodnight Adam " After he left Mark wondered just what kind of mystery he had gotten himself involved in. Mark sighed, he would just have to continue to trust Adam. After all he was the oldest friend he had now that life had ended as they knew it.

[BREAK]

Lee was in his office waiting on Kara, he wondered if he should tell her he spoke to his dad. He knew he should at least talk to her about Leobon. Lee decided he would see how she acted around his dad at the graduation before mentioning anything else. Just as he sat down she opened the hatch.

Kara spoke just as he started to stand up. " Just stay there Lee, it will be easier to talk with the desk between us " she then sat in the chair across from him.

Lee sat back down then leaned back and propped his feet up on the edge of the desk. He dropped his thoughts about talking to her about Leobon, since it seemed she needed to talk to him about something she felt was important " Okay Kara, what's up ?"

Lee listened without interrupting while she told him what Mark had wanted to see her about.

Kara finished " What do you think about it Lee, does it seem weird to you?"

Lee tried to figure out what she really wanted to know. " First off Kara, it seems natural that there would be rumors about the cylons circulating given what's happened and I think the fact that Mark actually called it right is just a coincidence " he sighed " Second of all, maybe he just wanted to warn you as any friend would " Lee saw her getting ready to interrupt and quickly added " I can see why you are worried though, given Leobon's obsession with you "

Kara figured Lee would have a rational explanation for it, but she still felt something was off. " My gut tells me I can trust Mark, but Lee it all felt kinda strange for some reason, plus I felt like we were being watched "

Lee chuckled " Given the way you looked I would find it strange if you weren't being watched " he saw her starting to get angry " Having said that Kara, I say trust your gut and be careful when your off ship and I will make it a point to take Mark up on his offer, and see if I can figure out if he is up to something "

Kara watched as Lee put his feet back on the deck " Thanks, maybe I'm just overreacting " Kara scooted her chair back and placed her feet on the corner of the desk as Lee had been doing " So, what's going on with you Lee?"

Lee who had been looking at a memo on his desktop looked up at her startled " What do mean Kara?"

Kara snorted " Come on Lee, I know you well enough to know when something is bothering you, so what happened while I was gone?"

Lee tried to act confused at her question " I don't know what you are talking about Kara "

Kara watched him fidgeting with a piece of paper that had been on his desk, now she knew for sure something was bothering him. Before she had just been guessing because he seemed distracted when she entered his office. She hoped it wasn't more crap about Dee or the commander for that matter. " For fraks sake Lee just tell me "

Lee decided he would tell her about the Leobon thing. He knew Kara would probably pick up on his dad acting strange tomorrow morning at the ceremony. Lee knew he wasn't ready to let her know that he had talked about their personal situation with his dad, so telling her they talked about the interrogation might be a good thing. At least it might explain things if she thought his dad was acting differently around her.

Lee leaned back in his chair and looked at a point over her shoulder " I was called to the commanders office after I dropped you off earlier " he then looked at her.

Now Kara wasn't sure she wanted to know, but she had asked " Do I even want to know what it was about?"

Lee shook his head " Probably not, but you need to know about it anyway " at her nod he continued. " He accused me of leaving things out of my report concerning your interrogation of Leobon "

Kara took her feet off the desk and stood up and faced away from Lee and stared at the hatch door " What did you tell him Lee?"

Lee wasn't going to tell her about his dad slamming the folder onto the table in front of him or about him throwing his drink against the wall of the office. " Basically I told him all that he needed to know was in the report and if he wanted to know more he would have to ask you "

Kara spun around " Why the frak did you say that Lee, you know I am not going to tell him anything "

Lee stood up and walked around the desk and leaned back against it putting about two feet of space between them before he answered her. " I know, which is why before I left I told him I would try to get you to talk to him about it when you were ready " Lee paused before adding " Kara you must know that Leobon's threat about coming after you could put the fleet in danger "

Kara who had been standing with her arms crossed while Lee talked, uncrossed them and rubbed her hands across her face before looking at him " Fine Lee, you can tell him that Leobon has threatened to come after me, I just don't feel like talking to the commander right now unless I have to"

Lee figured as much " What about the rest of it Kara?"

Kara shook her head " No, Leobon knowing about my childhood does not effect the safety of the fleet, that is my business. " Kara took a breath "He knows what Leobon said about Kobol and Earth, that is all he needs to know "

Lee nodded and took a step in her direction.

Kara stepped back " I need to go Lee, I have to get up early in the morning " Kara saw him about to say something and stepped close enough to give him a quick kiss on his lips then stepped back " Look thanks for listening and telling me about the commander, but I'm tired and I'm just gonna go now " she opened the hatch and looked back a moment " I'll see you in the morning " then she left before he could respond.

Lee just watched her go and then locked the hatch before going to sit back down. He wished he was brave enough to tell her about him talking to his dad about their personal issues. He just got her back into his life though, so for the time being he was going to keep quiet and hoped everything worked itself out.

[BREAK]

As much as Kara would have liked to stay a little longer with Lee she knew she couldn't. It had been a long day and she desperately needed some sleep. After she had gotten undressed and climbed into her bunk she thought back through the days events.

She had started it out with a run with Lee which she had enjoyed. Then she took her nuggets up one more time running them through all their drills. After that she took the raider on it's first test flight and thanked the gods everything had gone okay. She had also enjoyed the time she had gotten to fly with Lee after the demonstration had ended.

Then she had met Lee in his office for a drink before getting a call from Mark. Which led her to meeting him for dinner to talk about the cylons for some reason she still didn't quite understand. Lastly her talk with Lee. That had gone well until he brought up Leobon and the commander. Kara was not looking forward to seeing the commander first thing in the morning, but she knew that she couldn't avoid seeing him. Kara knew she could only avoid him for so long before he called her on it.

Kara closed her eyes and started remembering the kiss she shared with Lee in the raptor. That kiss made her realize how much she missed and needed Lee. She would just have to make sure they were never alone, the temptation of wanting to be with him was too great. It wasn't that she didn't want more with him, but the way the commander had been acting was enough for her to be cautious around Lee.

Kara decided over the next few days to pay attention to the way the commander, Dee and Lee acted. She had no doubt that Lee wasn't interested in Dee, but Kara didn't trust Dee when it came to Lee.

Kara turned over in her bunk and her lasts thoughts were about the kiss as she fell asleep.

[BREAK]

Lee woke up after another restless night of sleep. He lay there a moment remembering the last time he had a full nights sleep. It had been after they had lost pilots and a couple of the deck crew from the raider crashing onto the hangar deck. Most of the pilots were in the rec room drinking after watching their friends coffins being spaced . Kara had gotten very drunk so he walked her back to the bunk room and got her into bed. He was intending on leaving when Kara had asked him to stay, so he did. There had only been two more nights that he had truly slept and they had been when they were on the ice planet. Lee chuckled, Kara was to him like a favorite blankie was to a child, they needed them to be able to sleep.

Lee crawled out of bed and after getting dressed went to meet Kara for a run. When he got to the bunk room she wasn't outside waiting on him like he thought she would be. Lee opened the hatch and walked in quietly so he wouldn't disturb anyone. Her curtain was pulled close so he slipped it open slowly to find her still sleeping.

After watching her for a minute he sat down on the edge of her bed and lightly ran one of his fingers across her bottom lip while whispering "Wake up Kara or you will miss your run "

For a minute Kara thought she was dreaming and reached up to touch her lips and jerked awake when she felt a hand instead and opened her eyes to see Lee sitting there smiling at her " What the frak are you doing here Lee?"

Lee sat back up straight, clearly she was in a bad mood " I thought you would be ready to run "

Kara wanted to ask him why he had been rubbing her lips, but she wasn't awake enough for that discussion so she laid back down " I can't this morning I have to much to do before the ceremony "

Lee stood up " Right, I'm just gonna go I'll see you later " he wondered if he would ever understand her mood swings.

Kara just laid there and watched him leave, she didn't know what to say to him. She was not a morning person, but he couldn't know that. The few times they had fell asleep together she had enjoyed waking up with him.

Kara tried to go back to sleep but finally gave up and gathered her things for a shower. She needed to get down to the pilots ready room and take care of some things. This would be her first time to graduate people she had trained to be viper pilots. Plus she needed to be out of the shower room in case Lee showed up for a shower after his run.

Kara finished dressing and headed to the mess hall for a quick bite. She still had a little over an hour before things got started.

Kara saw Duck and Keeper sitting at a table and went to join them. After sitting down she asked " You guys going to the graduation this morning?'

Duck looked up at her " Are we supposed to?"

Kara shook her head " No, it's not mandatory, but it would be good if you guys showed up to support them "

Keeper spoke up " We just got off CAP, but I guess I could give up a couple of hours of sleep "

Duck looked at Keeper " Great, now if I don't go I will look like an ass, thanks Keeper "

Kara smirked " Don't worry guys I plan on asking anyone I run into between now and then, so you should have some company "

Keeper and Duck just grunted and went back to eating.

Kara finished up after they left and headed to the pilots room. On the way there she ran into Racetrack and Ripper and had talked them into coming. She found out Boomer was on Cap, so that left her out.

Kara started going over all of her notes about the pilots. She was proud of them and needed to make sure everything was in order before they showed up. Kara knew the commander would be there not long after. Just as she was putting all of her papers away she felt someone come into the room. Kara looked up and saw Lee standing there already dressed in his blues just as she was. They looked at each other a moment before he starting walking towards her.

He stopped when he was standing just below the podium where she was. He wanted to ask her about this morning, but knew he needed to keep this professionally " You have everything ready?"

Kara stepped down to stand in front of him " Yeah, I just want to hurry up and get this over with "

Lee cocked his head to the side " Is it because the commander is going to be here?"

Kara shrugged " Some and I'm a bit nervous, this will be my first time doing this "

Lee waited until she looked at him " You'll do fine Kara, don't worry about it "

Kara looked away " It's not just that Lee " when he didn't say anything she looked back at him " I trained them to be viper pilots and I can't help but feel if something happens to one of them it will be my fault "

Lee reached out and touched her arm briefly " You trained them well Kara, whatever happens after that is out of your hands "

Kara was about to respond when people started coming in. She put herself back in Starbuck mode and watched as her new pilots came in and sat in the front row. She noticed other pilots showing up and was surprised when a few of the deck crew came in also.

She went back to the podium and noticed Lee standing up front and to her left facing the room.

Kara was about to speak when Lee yelled out " Attention " after coming to attention she looked up and saw the commander coming to the front with Dee behind him. She knew it was not out of the ordinary for her to be there because she generally accompanied the commander during events, plus she seemed to be holding something.

They came up and stood to her right " At ease " the commander said and at a nod from him she began speaking.

Kara looked around and noticed several more people had shown up. " Have a seat everybody "

Kara looked at her pilots and spoke " I am very proud of each of you, having said that I assure you your training doesn't stop with me "

Kara heard a few of them groaning " All I meant is that each time you go out to fight the cylons you will learn something new, so remember what you have learned and use it " Kara smiled " And always watch out for your wing man, they need you and you will need them "

Kara felt like she was getting close to lecturing and that was not what today was about so she turned to her right " I think Commander Adama has something he wants to say " she stepped over to stand by Lee as Adama took the podium.

Adama looked over at Kara and Lee but they were facing the pilots. " I want to congratulate you all and to welcome the three new pilots to the CAP and to the Galactica "

Adama paused and looked over at Dee motioning for her to hand him something. " As I call your names I want you to step forward to receive your viper wings "

After he finished and they had sat back down " I need to do one more thing before we finish "

He looked at Dee again and she stepped forward to hand him something " Lt. Thrace would you mind stepping over here?"

Kara quickly glanced at Lee and he shrugged, apparently he had no idea what was going on.

Kara went and stood next to the commander " Lt. Thrace you are hereby promoted to Captain "

When Kara heard that she looked directly at Adama " Why? "

The people in the audience laughed, leave it to Starbuck to ask why instead of just accepting the promotion.

Adama smiled because he was thinking the same thing " You deserve it Starbuck, not only are you our lead pilot you are also our instructor, and plus we have a lot of Lt.'s on board already, we need a few Captains " he was trying to joke with her, but it seemed she wasn't in the mood.

Kara just nodded and stood there while Adama pinned her Captains pin on her. After that he turned back to face the room " Again congratulations to you all, and to you also Captain Thrace " he then turned and walked back to stand by Dee.

Lee stepped forward then and looked at the six new pilots " You guys now belong to me, which means you answer to me and not God " he turned for a split second and winked at Kara.

Hotdog jumped in " Thank the Gods, or the CAG in this case " which caused a few snickers.

Lee finished up " Congratulations "

Kara had walked over and stood by Lee and after getting a nod from the commander she called out " Dismissed "

Kara wasted no time, turning to Lee she said " I need to catch up with Kat I forgot to tell her something important " and she took off.

Lee wasn't a fool he knew exactly what she was doing. He turned because he heard his dad approaching him. " Well that was a surprise, when did you decide to promote Starbuck?"

Adama stopped when he reached Lee " I had already planned on it, but I decided to wait until the graduation, where did she run off to?"

Lee just shook his head " She said something about going after Kat "

Adama looked at Lee sadly " Is she ever going to forgive me?"

Lee didn't have a clue, but answered positively " Give her a little more time dad, I think the promotion probably has put her in a tailspin "

Adama didn't respond he just nodded and walked out. Lee was still trying to figure out what happened this morning. Lee knew that even if they were the same rank he was still her CAG.. Kara and him both knew and understood that without having to talk about it. Lee was more concerned about her personally than professionally.

[BREAK]

When Kara had fled the pilot briefing room she had no intention of running Kat down and she knew Lee would know exactly why she had left. Kara went to the only place she could have a little privacy, the walkway above the hangar deck.

After she sat down she fingered her new Captain's pin. She had no idea why the commander had promoted her, his reasons seemed valid, but Kara felt there was more to it than that.

Kara felt bad for avoiding Adama, but he had pissed her off with his sudden obsession of getting Lee and Dee together. Kara sat for a while longer before remembering she was supposed to be helping Gaeta and the Chief out with the raider.

Kara got up and headed to the compartment where they kept the raider. As soon as she got there they were both already working on it. " Can I help do anything?"

Chief turned to face her " I have finished the outside of it and " he stopped talking to boost Gaeta inside before turning back to her " Gaeta thinks he is pretty close to installing our jump drive into it "

Kara thought for a minute " You know that the raider has better jumping capability then what we have in our jump drives "

The chief looked at her " So you think we should have left the jump drive alone?"

Kara shrugged " It's what I would have done, besides shouldn't we be trying to find out why theirs is better than ours?"

About that time Gaeta slid out of the raider, he had heard most of what Starbuck had said " That's what I thought too, so instead of replacing it I just added one of ours in case something were to happen to theirs for some reason "

The chief turned to look at Gaeta " Why didn't you tell me that?"

Gaeta just looked at him as he answered " I wasn't sure before that it would work, but it did, I just finished it "

Kara smiled " So we now have a cylon raider that can jump and have one of ours for backup " Kara was excited " When do we get to test it out?" she asked looking from one to the other.

Chief Tyrol spoke " Maybe tomorrow, there are still a few things we need to do to it first "

" Chief I'll let you tell the commander the good news, I have CAP in a couple of hours, later you can tell me what he said " then she walked off

Gaeta called out to her " Congratulations on your promotion Starbuck "

Kara just nodded and left the bay and headed towards the vipers. She figured she could get a little work done while she waited for her CAP turn to come up.

[BREAK]

Lee had gone back to his office after the graduation. He had the next CAP along with Starbuck, Crashdown and Racetrack. Lee had planned the roster so that at least one of the new viper pilots would always be in the air with either him or Starbuck. He knew that Kara had trained them well, but he wanted to make their first CAP as safe as possible.

Lee was just about to change when he was paged to the CIC. He wondered what was happening now.

When he entered the CIC his commander motioned him towards the situation room.

Lee sat down after his commander took a seat. " What did you want to see me about sir?"

Adama looked at the folder he had been holding. " You know about the upcoming election for a vice president " Lee nodded, knowing that had been the deal he had made with Tom Zarek " It is in two days, so after your CAP I need you to go over there and familiarize yourself with the layout " Adama paused " We will be screening everyone, but I need you to make sure there will be no gaps in the security "

Lee nodded he understood " Who else will be on security detail?"

Adama passed him the paper containing the list of names " I will have some of the marines in plain clothes, you and Starbuck will wear your dress blues"

Lee put the list down " You seem worried "

Adama snorted " With Zarek on the loose, I am sure something will happen, I just don't know what " Adama paused again " You don't need Starbuck with you today unless you think you will need her, she might like to get off the Galactica "

Lee knew his dad was still trying to make things right with Kara. " I'll go alone, I have some personal business to take care of anyway while I'm there "

Adama wanted to ask what, but figured if Lee wanted him to know he would tell him " Then that will be all Captain, dismissed "

Lee left heading to his office to change for CAP.

[BREAK]

After they were in space and settled in for CAP Lee spoke to Kara " Starbuck switch to our secure com "

As he was flying right next to her she looked over and nodded before switching channels " What's up Apollo?"

He looked over at her " I didn't get a chance to congratulate you on your promotion "

She shrugged " Doesn't really mean anything anyway "

Lee tried to give her a stern look " It does mean something, Starbuck you deserved it "

When she didn't answer he knew she did not want to talk about it " I needed to talk to you about something else too "

Srarbuck looked over at him then " I'm listening "

Lee fell back into his CAP position before speaking " After CAP the commander is sending me over to Cloud Nine to check out security positions for the election of the vice president "

Kara had forgotten about that " I bet they are having it on the same day as the dance, aren't they?"

Lee nodded even though she couldn't see him " Yes, and along with some marines you and I both have security detail also "

Frak Kara thought she hated security especially when it came to politics " Am I supposed to go with you today?" she was hoping she was

Lee sighed " No just me, you have a maintenance shift plus I figured you would be working on the raider "

Something clicked and Kara remembered " Are you planning on seeing Mark?"

Lee rolled his eyes " You already know the answer to that, plus it is the perfect chance to drop in unannounced "

After a while she spoke " Lee will you come by tonight when you get back and let me know if you found out anything?"

Lee grinned " Only if you wait for me in my office "

Kara knew what he was up to and he knew she wouldn't say no " Fine Apollo, I'm switching back to the regular com channel now "

Lee was glad she agreed even if she did so out of curiosity. Apollo flew forward to see how Crashdown was doing and then looked over at the raptor Racetrack was flying. All of a sudden the alarms went off at the same time the Galactica was reporting it to them over the com.

" Apollo, Galactica you have three cylon raiders ahead of you " Dee told him

Kara spoke up " We see them Galactica " Kara wished that someone else monitored the coms besides Dee sometimes. She knew they did, it wasn't like she was there twenty four seven, but it seemed like she was always there when she flew CAP.

Apollo called out orders " Crashdown stay on my six, Racetrack stay clear, but close by in case we need you, Starbuck you have point "

Starbuck answered " Already heading that way Apollo "

Lee thought to himself ' of course you are ' " Crash and I will take care of what gets by you "

Starbuck didn't answer because she was already engaging them. After taking out the one in the middle she flipped back around to chase the other two as they were heading towards Crashdown and Apollo. She flew by Apollo as he was taking out one of them, she just needed to get to Crashdown now.

As she approached she saw him firing, but he had not managed to hit it. " Take evasive maneuvers Crash I'll see if I can get his attention "

Crashdown didn't need to be told twice he started trying to get away from the raider as he saw Starbuck approaching. He watched in horror as she put herself between him and the raider taking a hit that had been meant for him.

* * *

( Leave a comment )


	18. Chapter 18

A Different Beginning-Chapter 18

AU and it starts at the mini series. I am writing this story solo, so I apologize for the mistakes.

A.N.-I am sorry if this chapter is kind of all over the place. I am trying to get everyone where they need to be for future chapters.

Chapter 18

[BREAK]

Apollo made it just in time to watch Starbuck put her viper between Crashdown and the raider, taking the shot that had been meant for him. Time felt like it had stopped as he watched her viper get hit. He remembered the last time she had been shot at by a raider causing her to lose a wing and how she had landed right before blacking out. Lee quickly shook those thoughts away, as much as he needed to see if Starbuck was okay he needed to get to Crashdown first, the raider was going after him again. Before he could get there Crashdown had flipped his viper back toward the raider and started firing and didn't stop until he had blown it up and used up all of his ammunition. Apollo didn't know if it was shock, reflexes, retribution for Starbuck or the determination to live that had caused Crashdown to turn back and face the raider.

Apollo kept flying through all the debris until he could see that Crashdown's viper was okay. He then caught sight of Starbuck's viper intact for the most part and thanked the gods that Kara believed in. He immediately tried to get her over the comm "Starbuck are you okay?"

When she didn't answer his heart started beating rapidly as he pulled closer to her viper he continued calling out to her "Starbuck can you hear me?" a second later and it was " Kara are you okay?"

She still hadn't answered so he flew closer to her and that's when he saw that the front of her viper was almost blown off, after he flew around her viper checking for more damage as he had done the last time she was shot at by a cylon raider he flew in beside her so that he could look into her cockpit.

That's when he saw her and knew she was alright, she must have lost her comms along with losing the ability to control her viper. Lee let out a huge sigh of relief. He saw her pointing up and he knew she was going to eject. Apollo knew Starbuck would never eject if there was any possibility she could get the viper back to the Galactica.

He nodded that he understood " Racetrack prepare to pick up Starbuck she is going to eject "

Lee knew he needed to contact the Galactica especially since he had been ignoring their hails " Galactica, Apollo everything is under control "

Lee knew what was coming " Apollo this is Acutal you need to hurry up out there, we have to jump "

Apollo knew that, but his commander was crazy if he thought he was going to land before Racetrack had Starbuck aboard and they landed first. "Crashdown head back to the barn, I am going to escort Racetrack back "

Crashdown wasn't leaving either, not after what Starbuck had done for him " Apollo if it's okay with you I would rather wait with you "

Apollo knew Crash was blaming himself for what happened, even though he shouldn't. It was his first CAP as a viper pilot and sometimes things just happened, even to veteran pilots. It seemed like it was becoming a regular thing for either him or Starbuck coming close to being killed lately. Lee knew it was almost over, he could see Racetrack's ECO getting ready to pull Starbuck in " You can wait Crash it's almost over anyway "

As Lee sat there watching he knew he should be upset with Starbuck for what she did, but he also knew it wouldn't do any good. She was always going to try and protect the other pilots even if it put her life in jeopardy, just like she had done for him at Ragnar. It also made him realize that he was going to have to put an end to this so called friendship thing. Either one of them could die at any time and he didn't want to waste any more time just being friends with Kara.

Racetrack interrupted his thoughts " We have Starbuck on board and we are ready to land "

The Galactica cut in " Racetrack this is actual, is Starbuck okay?"

Racetrack looked over at Starbuck in the seat next to her thinking she would answer and when she didn't Racetrack knew she would have to " She seems okay, but by the looks of her viper I'm betting she got knocked around pretty good "

Apollo cut in before anyone could say anything else, he wanted them to land so he could see Kara " Alright everyone back to the Galactica, now "

The Galactica jumped as soon as they were aboard. Lee got out of his viper as quickly as he could and saw Cally standing there with her checklist trying to hand it to him " Not now Cally " was all he said as he walked past her heading to Racetracks raptor.

Racetrack and Skulls were already doing their checklists. Racetrack must have seen him approaching because she nodded to the front of the raptor.

Lee knew something was wrong or Kara would have already been on the deck. He went to the front and found her sitting in the passenger seat still buckled in. Lee sat in the pilots seat before reaching across to touch her arm " Kara, are you okay?"

Kara turned her head so that she could see his face, she then shrugged " Getting there, it was a close one" she chuckled lightly "Ejecting has never been one of my favorite things to do as a pilot "

Lee knew she was shook up and stalling for time until she could be Starbuck again before she stepped onto the deck. Lee wondered when he had figured out the difference between Starbuck and Kara. He didn't understand it when he first met her, but he did now.

He decided to try and lighten things up a bit. " I guess that explains why you always find a way to land your broken birds "

Kara chuckled, Lee's joking helped her more than he knew " You now know one of my secrets Apollo, so I expect you to tell me one of yours in return "

Lee laughed and reached to unbuckle her harness " I promise to tell you one after you go to life station and let Cottle check you out " he saw she was getting ready to say no " I'll make it an order if I have to Starbuck, you seem to be okay on the outside, but the Doc needs to check you out thoroughly "

Kara finished getting out of the harness " Fine, but just so you know I will be expecting that secret of yours soon "

Lee squeezed her shoulder " Come on Starbuck " as they started walking out of the raptor Lee spotted Crashdown standing across the bay looking their way " Kara " when she looked at him, as he knew she would, when he called her by her name he continued " I think Crashdown is blaming himself for what happened to you "

Starbuck looked at Apollo " Why, it's our job to protect each other when we are in the air?"

Apollo nodded " It is, but you went above and beyond simple protection and he knows that"

Starbuck started walking towards Crashdown so Apollo followed, they stopped right in front of him " Nice job on taking out that raider Crash "

Crashdown didn't know what to say except " I'm just sorry for not taking it out sooner Starbuck, thank you for what you did "

Starbuck shook her head " That's our job Crash to watch out for each other, just remember what I said earlier, take what you learn each time you face the cylons and use it the next time you face them "

Apollo needed to get her to life station " Starbuck you need to go and get checked out "

Crashdown decided it was time for him to leave " I gotta go, thanks again Starbuck " and he walked away

Kara turned to face Lee, she hated to ask him this " Lee will you go with me in case your dad shows up?"

Lee wanted to tell her that it was time for her to face the commander again, but as one of his pilots he should go with her anyway " I was already planning on it "

[BREAK]

After they had arrived at life station one of the nurses put Kara in a room and told Lee to stay in the waiting area, which is where he was when his dad walked in.

Adama spotted Lee and walked over and sat across from him " Is she okay?"

Lee shrugged " She seemed okay, but I think they will know more after they check her out, they will probably run a few scans on her "

Adama looked at him with a frown " Why would they need to run scans?"

Lee stood up to stretch his legs " You wouldn't have to ask that if you saw her viper, she could have something wrong internally, frankly I don't know how she survived the hit in the first place "

Adama crossed his arms " What happened out there Lee?"

Lee knew it would be at least a day before any reports would be filed " After Starbuck took out her raider she came back to assist me and Crash, by the time she reached me I was taking mine out so she headed to where Crash was " Lee paused as he sat back down " I'm not sure what happened before I got there " Lee shuddered as he remembered " When I got there she was flying her viper between Crash and the raider and took the shot that was meant for Crash "

Adama jumped up then " What the frak did she do that for, she could have been killed?"

Lee looked up at his father and even though he felt the same way, he knew it wouldn't change things " Starbuck was doing her job commander, you of all people should understand that "

Adama looked down at Lee " What do you mean? "

Lee rolled his eyes " Didn't you give her an order at Ragnar that could have resulted in her death "

Adama merely shrugged " That was different "

Lee looked straight at his dad " Why, because I am your son?" when Adama didn't answer Lee continued "It might be different for you, but Starbuck will do whatever she has to do in order to protect any pilot, you should know that about her "

Adama sat back down he did know that, but he wished she wasn't so reckless with her life. They sat there in silence after that.

They both looked up when Doc Cottle walked in " There is nothing wrong with her other than a headache which is probably from being bounced around in her viper and a few bruises, she was hurt more the last time she got shot at."

Lee couldn't believe how lucky she was, he half expected something bad had happened to her considering she basically placed herself in front of a kill shot. He wasn't going to complain though he was too happy she was alright. " So she can still fly?"

Cottle chuckled " Yes, although I would give her a day before letting her jump back into a viper "

Cottle was waiting on the commander to say something, it wasn't like him to be so silent especially since it was Starbuck they were talking about. He finally spoke up though " Can we see her?"

Cottle shrugged his shoulders " Sure, but we are already in the process of releasing her " he said as he walked away.

[BREAK]

Kara had finished getting dressed when Cottle left the room. She could hear him talking to Apollo and the commander and knew they would both be in soon. After dressing she sat on the edge of the bed waiting. She would have left except she was waiting on the nurse to give her something for her headache which was getting worse. She really did not want to see the commander right now, but she knew it was unavoidable.

Lee came in first with the commander trailing behind him. She sat still as the commander walked up to her and reached out as if he was going to touch her cheek, but stopped before he did letting his arm fall back beside him " How are you feeling Starbuck?"

Kara wasn't stupid enough to act rude " Other than a bad headache I'm okay sir "

Adama sighed " That was a very brave and foolish thing you did out there Starbuck "

Kara felt like he was blaming her for something, so she looked straight at him " I didn't plan it sir, my instincts just took over "

Lee jumped in before anything else could be said " Are you feeling well enough to do your maintenance shift?"

Kara stood up when the nurse came in and took the pill she gave her before answering Lee " I'll be fine, plus I have an hour before it starts since CAP got cut short "

Frak Lee thought as he turned to look at his dad " I completely forgot, did another CAP get launched?"

Adama nodded " I had Tigh have one ready to launch as soon as we came out of the jump "

Kara was ready to get out of sickbay she was still feeling a little jumpy after the whole ejection thing " I am going to lie down before my shift starts"

Lee looked at his dad again " I need to go and change before I head over to Cloud Nine "

Adama nodded " And I need to head back to the CIC, let me know if you need anything Starbuck "

Kara was more than ready to get out of there now, this whole conservation had felt awkward " I will sir "

Lee was walking with Kara since she would have to pass by his office on her way to the bunk room " I don't know about you Kara, but that was awkward "

Kara agreed " My thoughts exactly "

Lee sighed loudly " Kara you are going to have to start talking to dad, he has been asking me what is wrong with you "

Kara looked down but kept walking " I know Lee and I will soon, now about that secret of yours "

Lee chuckled " You are not going to let it go are you?"

Kara looked sideways at him " Did you really think I would? "

Lee shook his head " No, but you are going to have to wait until I get back tonight "

Kara smirked " Just one more reason for me to wait for you in your office, huh?"

Lee grinned because they had reached his office. Before she could move on he grabbed her hand and pulled her into his office and shut the hatch.

Kara was confused and wondering what was happening " What are you up to Lee?"

Before answering her he backed her against the wall and placed his hands on either side of her head and looked right into her eyes. " Kara you do realize you could have been killed out there today, don't you?"

Kara was distracted by how close he was to her and could only nod.

Then he leaned in and kissed her. For a moment she just stood there before kissing him back, getting lost in the moment.

Lee stopped the kiss and stepped back then winked at her " I'll explain that tonight also "

Kara didn't know how to respond to that as she watched Lee go and open the hatch " Go lie down Kara, I need to get changed "

Kara would have argued with him as he seemed to be basically telling her to leave except the pain pill had started working and she couldn't seem to form a coherent thought. However she did manage to give him a frak you look before she left.

[BREAK]

Lee piloted his own raptor to Cloud Nine because he didn't know how long he would be there. As he was landing he decided to talk to Kara some more about his dad tonight. He figured since he would have her somewhere private he might as well talk to her about it along with everything else. The most important topic was going to be their just friendship thing.

Lee started walking the outside area on Cloud Nine looking for possible sniper positions. He spotted a few and made a mental note to have those areas covered. He then scouted all the entrances into Cloud Nine, which was only four thankfully, the front, the back, an emergency exit on the second floor and an open entrance into the restaurant.. There was two floors on the ship, the bottom which held the restaurant, a ballroom, and several smaller rooms. The top floor had a couple of bars and the hotel guest rooms. He made another mental note to get a copy of the hotel guest lists starting from today through the event. It was entirely possible that someone would already be on board so they could avoid security.

After walking the entire ship inside he headed to the restaurant to talk to Mark. Lee stood just inside the door and scanned the room looking for Mark. He didn't see him, but he spotted someone who looked like a waiter by the kitchen door. Lee crossed the room and stopped right next to the waiter who when he turned to look at him jerked slightly. Lee saw a brief look of surprise cross his face before he composed himself " Is Mark around?"

Frak Adam thought when he saw Lee Adama, he was going to have to be more careful now that Mark was friends with Lee and Kara. He should have known that either one of them could show up at anytime. " He is in the back I will get him for you "

Adam left and walked into the kitchen heading to Mark's office. He knocked once then let himself in to find Mark at his desk working.

Mark looked up when he heard the knock which was followed by Adam walking in looking frazzled " What's up Adam?"

Adam sat in the chair across from Mark " Lee Adama is waiting for you in the restaurant "

Mark looked at him " Okay, do you want to tell me why you look so shook up?"

Adam shook his head " It's nothing I was just surprised to see him here "

Mark got up " I told you he might come by for dinner "

Adam stood up also " Yeah, but I thought he would have called before coming over "

Mark patted him on the shoulder as he was walking out " Look at it this way, now you get to check him out yourself "

Adam nodded, Mark was right, besides Lee Adama didn't know who he was. " I will be your waiter tonight "

Mark smiled " This should be fun "

Adam gave him a stern look " This is not some kind of joke Mark, I told you how important this was and I need to get close to Lee Adama in order to figure out what kind of man he is "

Mark rolled his eyes " I'm just kidding Adam, you need to lighten up a bit "

Adam didn't comment he just headed back into the kitchen.

[BREAK]

While waiting on Mark Lee sat down at a table near the outdoor entrance. He watched people walking the grounds outside enjoying the fake scenery. Being here was so different from being on the Galactica where everything seemed dark and gray. At least as a pilot he got to fly in the skies and at night among the stars. Lee knew other members of the military like the deck crew, the marines and the CIC did not get a chance to leave the ship very often. He would work on making sure those people got passes more often. At least the dance was coming up in the next two days. Lee was so lost in thought he didn't realize Mark had walked up. He jerked a little when Mark spoke.

Mark saw Lee was deep in thoughts and wondered what he was thinking about. Mark took a seat " What were you thinking about Lee, you seemed a million miles away?"

Lee turned from looking outside to face Mark " Just that so many people from the Galactica rarely get a chance to leave ship, unless a pass comes up, which it rarely does "

Mark nodded " I guess I never thought about it, I mean I don't think most civilians think about it, we just assume the Galactica will protect us and never think about the people involved in it, I'm sorry "

Lee shook his head " That's alright, I hope you don't mind me dropping by unannounced "

Mark looked around and saw that there wasn't that many people here yet. " No that's okay, would you like to eat even though it's still early evening?"

Lee realized he was hungry since he had skipped lunch with everything going on at the time " Sounds good, I missed lunch "

Mark looked at him before motioning the waiter over " We have some spaghetti left over from lunch is that alright?"

Wow Lee thought " That would be great, spaghetti is actually one of my favorite meals "

Lee saw Mark motion for the waiter he had saw before. Lee sat back watching the waiter while Mark told him what they wanted. Lee knew he didn't know the man, but something felt a little off about him. The man also kept taking quick glances at him. After Mark had ordered their food and a couple of drinks he looked his way " Lee I would like you to meet my friend Adam " Mark glanced at Adam "Lee is a viper pilot "

Adam knew he shouldn't bring attention to himself but, he had to know, he looked straight at Lee " Is it true that a pilot was in an accident today when the cylons showed up?"

Mark glanced at Adam " I didn't know anything about that, how did you?"

Adam was still focusing on Lee " Talk wireless "

Mark turned his attention from Adam back to Lee " Is it true?"

Lee was trying to figure out why they were so interested because things like that were pretty normal now since they kept having run ins with the cylons. Then he figured that maybe they never had anybody to ask before. Lee was starting to notice a lot of distance and separation between the military and the civilians, so he answered their question. " We were on CAP patrol when the cylons jumped in and Starbuck lost her viper defending Crashdown, she took a shot that was meant for him "

Lee noticed Adam's hands tighten into fists at the same time Mark asked " Are they okay and who is Starbuck and Crashdown?"

Lee looked at Mark when he asked him that and somehow he knew Kara would have never told him her call sign. She had to be Starbuck so much of the time on the Galactica she rarely got to be just Kara. Lee chuckled " I should have known she wouldn't tell you, Kara is Starbuck "

Mark stood halfway up with his hands on the table and after taking a quick glance at Adam looked at Lee " Is Kara okay?"

Okay Lee thought was it just his imagination that Mark seemed a bit wound up or not, and it seemed by the fisting of his hands that Adam knew Starbuck was Kara and Mark did not, now that was odd " Everything is fine, she was cleared by the Doctor and can get back in the cockpit tomorrow " Lee paused as Mark sat back down and the waiter Adam had uncurled his fists " I don't know how she survived the hit in the first place, then came out of it with nothing but a headache and a few bruises, but then again we are talking about Starbuck "

Mark finally got his wits back and told Adam to have their food prepared and waited until he walked away. " Do things like that happen often with Kara, I know she is a pilot and takes a chance each time she goes out, but you don't seem too upset about it?"

Lee face took on a hard edge " Do not doubt that I am upset about it, but Starbuck has her own set of rules when she fights the cylons and even though I am her CAG she tends to ignore that fact when it comes to fighting the cylons " Lee paused " Starbuck will always put the other pilots life before her own, just like she did for me at Ragnar " Lee paused again before saying " You have met Kara, but you have not met Starbuck "

Mark was confused " I don't know what you mean "

Lee laughed " I didn't either, even when my dad try to explain it to me when I first met her and I only realised today that I had figured it out somewhere along the way "

Mark nodded " Okay I guess I'll just have to take your word for it, what happened at Ragnar?"

Lee explained everything that had happened at Ragnar and how she got his viper back onto Colonel One also.

Mark looked stun " Is she insane?"

Lee chuckled " No, she is beyond insane, Starbuck either has nine lives like a cat or her Gods are watching out for her "

Mark thought to himself or she has a destiny.

When Mark didn't say anything Lee asked after Adam had came and gone bringing them their drinks " How well do you know Adam?"

Mark picked up his drink that Adam had just brought to the table " When I came to work here five years ago he kind of took me under his wing and three years ago we went in together and bought this place "

Lee gave him a look of confusion " If he is part owner why is he waiting tables?"

Mark put his drink down " I own most of the percentage of this place and he prefers doing odd jobs around here including waiting tables "

Lee asked " Has he met Kara?"

Mark seemed to think about it for a moment before answering " Not as far as I know " Mark knew he needed to change the subject "How is the just friends thing going between you and Kara?"

Lee chuckled " She told you about that, huh?"

It was Marks turn to laugh " Yeah, but I think she was just trying to convince herself of it "

Lee sighed and got serious " After what happened today with her almost getting killed I decided the friendship thing was no longer an option "

Mark picked his drink back up " Have you told her that?"

Lee shook his head " No, but I plan on telling her tonight when I get back, along with a lot of other things we need to discuss "

Mark didn't know what to say about that except " Good luck "

They both stayed silent for a while.

Lee was wondering why he was telling all of this to Mark, he barely knew him. He then realised that if he had a friend besides Kara he would probably be telling them these things. Lee looked at Mark who seemed lost in thought himself. So far Lee liked Mark and thought maybe they could be friends. Kara had told him before that she thought he would like Mark.

Mark had been thinking also during their silence. He wondered what would happen to humanity if Kara ended up getting killed in a battle with the cylons. He also noticed that Adam apparently knew that Kara was Starbuck. He would have to ask him about that later. In the mean time he needed to say something to break the silence " Are you and Kara coming to the dance after the election?"

Lee nodded " After we get off duty, we are both on security detail " Lee paused to take a swallow of his drink " What about you and if so will you be bringing someone?"

Mark saw Adam heading their way " I am going after I close up here, but I am going alone, I don't really know that many women "

Lee chuckled " There will be some women from the Galactica coming, they will of course be mostly military "

After Adam sat their plates down and left Mark asked " Will any of them be like Kara?"

Lee laughed loudly " No, there is no one else like Kara, I'm pretty sure the Galactica could not handle two Starbucks " Lee took a bite before talking again " There are a few women though that you might like "

After Mark swallowed he asked " What do they do on the Galactica?"

Lee started to answer, but changed his mind " I had better let you just try and meet somebody you might like, because the two I have in mind Kara doesn't like them very much, one in particular "

Mark seemed interested " Why does she not like them?"

Lee looked up " They both flirted with me quite a bit when I became part of the crew and my dad tried to set me up with one of them, please don't mention this to Kara, she is still upset with my dad about that "

Mark nodded " I asked Kara to save me a dance, I hope you don't mind "

Lee chuckled again " I don't care, besides Kara does whatever she wants to do "

They ate in silence for the rest of their meal and after the table was cleared Lee looked at Mark " Kara told me about you warning her about the cylons looking like humans "

Mark wasn't going to deny it " I did, only out of concern for her as a friend "

Lee nodded " She also said you seemed pretty sure about it "

Mark picked up his refilled drink " I did and I still do "

Lee picked his drink up and after taking a swallow asked " I guess you still won't say who told you?"

Mark put his drink down and looked right at Lee " No Lee I won't, but I believe them and I know you can't say anything one way or the other and I respect that "

Lee stood up " Okay but I had to ask, Kara and I both will be over here tomorrow to finalize the security plans, maybe we can meet for a drink during one of our breaks "

Mark had got up also " Great just drop by and let me know, and tell Kara I said hello "

Lee spoke one last time before leaving " I enjoyed the meal and the company Mark, we'll see you tomorrow "

[BREAK]

Kara had finished her maintenance shift and spent some time making sure the raider would be ready for tomorrow's jump test. She had taken a shower and changed before heading to the mess hall for dinner. After she got her plate she looked around and went and took a seat at a table where Duck, Crashdown and Racetrack were sitting.

After plopping down into the chair and putting her plate on the table " Hey guys what's up?"

Duck spoke up " We were just talking about that insane move you pulled on CAP "

Kara really wished people would quit calling her insane " I didn't do anything any of you guys would not have done "

They all three looked at her and just shook their heads.

Kara shrugged her shoulders " Whatever " and started eating

Racetrack spoke up " I heard you pulled security detail "

Kara looked at Racetrack and realized she still liked her even after her attempts to flirt with Lee, unlike Dee who did not seem to know when to quit. " Yeah, even though I hate security detail in general I really hate it when it involves politics "

Crashdown who had been quiet spoke " Are any of you going to the dance?"

Duck answered " I think if you are not on duty it is required, right Starbuck?"

Starbuck nodded " That's what I was told " Kara decided to put them on the spot " So who's going with who?"

Racetrack looked startled " We have to have a date to go?"

Duck knew what Starbuck was doing so he played along " I'm afraid so Racetrack "

Racetrack sat back " There is no one I want to go with " she looked around the table " Do any of you have dates?"

Duck nodded " I do "

Kara stated " I don't have a date, but I'm going anyway "

Crashdown and Racetrack both said " Then I am too "

Duck asked " Who's the CAG going with?" they all looked at Kara

Kara put her fork down " What the frak are you all looking at me for?" then added with a grin " I have a meeting with him tonight so I'll be sure and let him know that certain people want to know who his date to the dance will be "

They all three looked at each other and Duck spoke up " Forget we asked Starbuck "

Then Kara thought about Mark " Hey Racetrack I'll introduce you to a friend of mine if you want, he is unattached and good looking " she sure as hell did not want Mark to end up with Dee

Racetrack looked at her " Why would you do that, what's in it for you?"

Kara was not going to mention Dee " Nothing he is a friend of mine and he doesn't know many people, except Apollo and me and he is having dinner with our CAG as we speak "

That seemed to confuse them even more cause everyone knew other than Starbuck their CAG didn't have any close friends.

After Duck and Crashdown left the table Racetrack looked at Starbuck " What's the real reason behind you wanting me to meet your friend ?"

Starbuck pushed her plate away " I really do just want you to meet him, he is a nice guy "

Racetrack needed to know more " Okay, why me then?"

Kara smirked " I would much rather you meet him than Dee "

Racetrack smiled " Would it not be better if she met your friend and if she liked him she might leave Apollo alone?"

Kara looked at her like she missed the point " I said he was my friend and I'd hate to have to stop being his friend if he ended up liking Dee "

Racetrack laughed " You sound like your in grade school "

Kara shrugged " I don't care, plus I wanted to ask you if there was some place in the fleet to find a dress for the dance?"

Racetrack laughed loudly at that " You want to wear a dress, really?"

Kara leaned her chair back and crossed her arms " I have been known to wear one once or twice before, so will you help me find one or not?"

Racetrack could tell she was serious " If I were you I would check out some of the shops while you are on Cloud Nine there might be some still open "

Starbuck got up " Thanks and by the way my friend owns one of the restaurants on Cloud Nine, so should I mention you to him or not?"

Racetrack got up also " Is he really good looking?"

Kara smiled " He is almost as cute as our CAG "

Racetrack nodded " Count me in then and thanks Starbuck "

Kara looked at her " What for?"

Racetrack stood twisting her hands " For saving Crash, for not holding anything against me concerning Apollo and for wanting to introduce me to your friend "

Instead of brushing it aside like she normally would Kara simply stated " Your welcome "

[BREAK]

After leaving the mess hall Kara went to Lee's office to wait on him. She looked around the office then poked her head inside the small room that she knew had a cot in it and was surprised it also had a small shower stall. She then walked around looking at different things. She realised that most of the things in it belonged to their CAG that had been killed during the cylon invasion. Kara sat down in Lee's chair behind the desk and was looking over the pilot rotation for next week when she heard the hatch opening.

Kara waited until Lee noticed she was there, when he saw her she asked " How was your time away from the Galactica?"

Lee smiled when he saw her " It was okay, I wasn't sure you would be here when I got back "

Kara didn't bother with getting up " I couldn't wait to here one of your secrets and how things went with Mark "

Lee saw she was dressed in tanks and a pair of running shorts " Let me change, then we will talk "

She nodded as he went into his tiny bedroom to change.

He came back in dressed in tanks and a pair of cargo shorts. Without saying anything he took the chair across from her.

Lee was nervous about talking to her, so he decided to go with the easiest things first. "I have a few security issues I need to go over with you tomorrow "

Kara nodded " Okay, just as long as it doesn't interfere with my jump test "

Lee looked at her for a minute noticing that she had her hair down and how much it had grown out the last few weeks. " Your test is still scheduled for in the morning right?" she nodded " Then we will head over there after you finish up "

Kara put her elbows up on the desk interlocked her fingers and placed her chin on her hands then grinned " Sounds good, so about that secret "

Lee rolled his eyes " I will get to that in a minute, did you meet Mark's friend Adam?"

Kara didn't move " No, he just told me that a friend and him had bought the restaurant, why?"

Lee leaned back in his seat " I met him and he seemed okay, but something seemed off about him "

Kara took her elbows off the desk and leaned back also " What do you mean Lee?"

Lee shook his head " It's probably nothing but he seemed edgy when he asked me about the injured pilot he had heard about through talk wireless "

Kara still didn't know what Lee was trying to figure out " What else happened Lee?"

Lee looked at her " I told them and as soon as I said Starbuck Adam fisted his hands together tightly and then Mark asked me who Starbuck was and when I told him, he came half out of his seat with worry I presume " Lee paused " What was strange was that Adam knew who you were but Mark didn't "

Kara shrugged " I didn't tell Mark my call sign " she paused " Did you figure out if I should be worried about Mark's interest in me?"

Lee ran his hands across his face, he was tired " With Mark no, he likes you as a friend, but I am not sure about Adam "

Kara sighed " Since he is Mark's friend and they have known each other for five years I don't see cause to worry " she thought about Racetrack "Did Mark tell you he was coming to the dance?"

Lee needed to touch her, he got up and walked behind her chair and started massaging her shoulders " Yeah he is coming, why?"

Kara looked up at him over her shoulder and grinned " I found him a date "

Lee raised his eyebrows at that " We talked about that and I told him I knew of a couple of people "

Kara's grin turned into a frown " Who Lee?"

Lee who had stopped massaging her shoulders started back " Don't worry I didn't tell him any names, I started to then I figured it might piss you off so I told him he would just have to meet someone himself "

Kara who was still looking up at him grinned " Good because I want him to meet Racetrack "

Lee stooped what he was doing and went and sat on the edge of his desk on her side so he could look at her " Wow I would have never guessed it would be her when you said you had found him a date "

Kara looked at him dangerously " Do you think it should be the other someone else you were thinking about setting him up with?"

Lee knew he needed to answer her very carefully " No, I think Racetrack is the perfect choice for him "

Kara reached over and slapped him on the leg " Good, now that is settled out with your secret "

Lee reached and grabbed one of her hands " First I wanted to talk to you about fixing things with dad "

Kara pulled her hand away and leaned back " I have already been thinking about it and I have decided to wait and talk to him after the dance "

Lee scooted down the desk till he was right in front of her and grabbed her hands and pulled her and the rolling chair toward him " What I have to tell you is not just a secret, but also a truth "

Kara looked at him curiously " What is it Lee "

Lee leaned down and gave her a quick kiss and moved his mouth to her ear and whispered " I don't want to be just friends anymore Kara "

Kara pulled back to look at him and found that he was serious " Lee I told you I didn't want to go to fast with this thing between us, I am afraid I will frak it all up " she hoped he would understand

Lee still held onto one of her hands " Kara we have both almost died on numerous occasions so how long are you willing to wait, because almost losing you again today made me realize I couldn't wait any longer "

Kara couldn't look him in the eyes any longer " I am scared Lee, I have not been in a relationship for a long time "

Lee placed a finger under her chin so she would have to look at him " So am I Kara, but I'm also excited about it and with the way things are right now shouldn't we get all that we can have right now?"

Kara thought about it, she wanted to be with Lee now also and they had both come close to dying this past week " If I agreed what would we do first ?"

He grinned and then she laughed " Besides that Lee, I think that's a given "

Lee pulled her up so she was standing between his legs " I want you to go to the dance with me " he put his finger up to her mouth before she could speak " The frat regs are gone and it would be a good time for dad to know that we are together " again she tried to speak and he stopped her " We did it your way last time and we both know that didn't work out at all "

Kara who had been staring at his blue eyes as she was listening knew that everything he said was true " Fine we will do it your way this time, it certainly can't get any worse than it already is " she kissed him quickly and pulled back " What else?"

Lee watched her closely before speaking " I want you to sleep in my bed tonight " he said blushing " I don't mean for sex Kara we can build up to that "

Kara was curious " Then why are you blushing?"

Lee started to deny it but didn't " The three times that we have slept together has been the best sleep that I've had since this war started and I need a good nights sleep "

Kara laughed " Me too, that's weird " she hugged him then stepped back " Fine, but you need to set the alarm so I can get back to my rack before anyone wakes up "

Lee watched Kara as she went into the bedroom, so he followed her and stood there and watched as she got undressed leaving on one tank and what he thought would be her military issued bottoms instead she had on a pair of light blue low cut panties. Lee's brain went spinning into a couple of fantasies involving those low cut panties which made him jump when Kara called out to him.

Kara had been waiting on Lee to climb into bed, but he kept standing there like he was lost or something " Lee " once more " Apollo " he finally looked at her " I thought you wanted to get some sleep, come on " she said as she patted a place on the bed beside her

Lee groaned internally he knew after watching what she would be sleeping in he would get no sleep now. He wondered if it would be okay to ask her to put her clothes back on. He laughed at that thought.

Kara raised her head up off the pillow " What are you laughing about Lee?"

He must have laughed out loud " Nothing " Lee finally made up his mind and took his shirt off but left cargo shorts on. He climbed into bed and pulled Kara close to him.

Before she laid her head down on his chest she looked up at him " Your forgot to take off your shorts "

Lee laughed " No I didn't, I either sleep in these or you will have to put your clothes back on "

Without looking up Kara giggled " You liked those huh?"

Lee kissed the top of her head " You are a tease, but you knew that didn't you?"

Kara kissed his hand that was around her " I did not know I would be sleeping here, so it's not like I did it on purpose, now go to sleep Captain " Kara didn't say that she maybe kinda planned on something happening.

Lee closed his eyes and pulled her closer " You too Captain "

* * *

( Leave a comment )


	19. Chapter 19

A Different Beginning-Chapter 19

AU and it starts at the mini-series. I am writing this solo so I am sorry for any mistakes.

A.N.-Thanks to everyone for reading and commenting on this story it helps a lot and I am sorry if I have not gotten back to answering the comments yet. I also want to apologize if this chapter seems a bit strange. I guess I was in a weird mood when I wrote it. I wrestled with changing it for a few days but I kept coming back to the way I am posting it.

I still have to finish this day, but I decided to stop it here in hopes that I can get out of this strange mood I've been in. Thank you all again.

Chapter-19

[BREAK]

Kara woke up to what she thought was her alarm going off. As usual she reached to the head of her bed to slap the alarm off as she did every sleep shift. She jumped up in shock when she realized she had hit someone rather than her alarm clock. She looked down and when she saw Lee she remembered where she was.

Lee sat straight up in the bed when a slap to his face woke him up " What the frak ?" He opened his eyes and saw Kara sitting up on her knees looking at him and trying very hard not to laugh " Why the frak did you slap me Kara?"

A slight chuckle escaped as she tried to answer Lee " I thought I was in my bed so when the alarm went off I slapped it, well I slapped you, thinking I was in my bed " Kara saw Lee rubbing one of his eyes " Are you okay Lee?"

Lee thought she deserved a little pay back " I'm not sure, my eye hurts "

Kara pushed him back onto the bed and straddled him then she covered his good eye with one of her hands while leaving the hurt one open "Can you see me Lee?"

Lee thought of course I can, she was only about six inches away from his face, he shook his head no, wanting to see what she would do next "No, Kara I can't?" he kept moving his eye around like he was trying to see her, trying not to laugh at her intense concentration.

Kara jumped up off of him so fast it stunned him and as he sat up he saw her frantically trying to get her clothes on." What are you doing Kara?"

Kara stopped and looked at him strangely " I am taking you to Doc Cottle "

Lee thought for a second about keeping the ruse up just so he could watch Kara drag him to sickbay and order Cottle to fix his eye. He decided not to test that theory or they might end up in hack.

Lee figured he had better stop joking around before Kara killed him, as it was he had probably gone to far already. " Kara you can stop getting dressed, I don't need to go to sickbay "

Kara paused just as she was starting to put her shoes on and looked over at him " Why Lee, is your eye better?"

Lee chuckled lightly, he wanted so much to let her think his eye had gotten better on it's own. He reached a hand out " Come here Kara, please "

Kara put her shoes down and walked over to the bed where he was sitting and bent down looking closely at his eye again " Can you see me now?"

Lee could not help it he busted out laughing causing Kara to scowl him " What the frak is so funny Lee?"

Lee grabbed her around the waist and pulled her close to him and since he was still sitting down she had to look down at him " I am so sorry Kara, my eye was never hurt I just decided to pay you back for the slap, but then you looked so cute when you were worried and then I thought about you dragging me to sickbay to see Cottle and I knew I needed to stop "

Kara listened to everything he said then she thought about really poking him in the eye. She wondered what would have happened if he let her take him to Cottle, picturing that made her laugh. She leaned down and kissed the tip of his nose before standing up and backing away. " That was a good one Captain, but just remember payback is a bitch "

Lee was shocked " So your not mad?"

Kara straightened up after putting her shoes on and turned to look at him with that certain shit eating grin of hers " A little bit, but paying you back is going to be way to much fun "

Lee got up and put his shirt back on " Are you headed to the bunk room?"

Kara shook her head, she basically had her running clothes on " Since I had a decent nights sleep I think I am going to get a run in before a shower and breakfast "

Lee walked over to her and put his hands on her waist " Give me a minute and I'll run with you?"

Kara nodded " I'll be outside stretching "

As Kara waited on Lee she thought about the joke he had pulled on her. It was a good one she had to admit, but it had scared her, she thought she had hurt his fraking eye. She had today and tomorrow during their security shifts to come up with a way to pay him back.

Kara was disappointed though, she thought they would be able to take their time waking up together and they would have if she hadn't slapped him. Thinking about it that way she could see why Lee wanted to play his little joke. Waking up because someone had slapped you couldn't be a good way to wake up.

Lee came out of his room to find her stretching and smiling. " What are you smiling about?"

Kara laughed " About the way I woke you up, sorry "

Lee rubbed his face " That is the first time that has ever happened to me, if you hit your clock like you hit me I'm surprised it still works "

Kara shrugged " You ready?"

Lee didn't even get a chance to answer her, she took off right after that. He caught up with her and they fell into their running routine. After a while he spoke up " The only thing I have to do today is go back to Cloud Nine with you to finalize the security protocols "

Kara looked over at him " I know you told me last night "

Lee reached out and brushed her arm " I am going to be in the raptor with Racetrack and Skulls during your raider jump tests "

Kara nodded she had expected that " Are you ready to try and fly it yet?"

Lee looked over at her " Yeah, just not today "

Kara laughed " You mean you want me to test everything out about it first, before you climb your ass up in it, right?"

Lee chuckled " You caught me "

They ran several laps in silence after that before stopping for a break, they sat down on a container that was left in the walkway.

Lee reached and tapped her arm so she would look at him " Kara, are you sure that it is safe to jump the raider ?"

Kara knew he was worried and so was she a little bit " Yeah I'm sure, between Gaeta, Chief, and myself we have done everything we can to make it safe to jump, besides that is why the raptor will be jumping with me in case something does happen "

Lee nodded, he knew they had " How many jumps are you planning?"

Kara held up three fingers instead of answering.

Lee reached and grabbed her hand for a second while no one was around " Thanks for staying over last night, although I had planned on waking up differently "

Kara pulled her hand from his and rubbed his cheek " Sorry about that, I'm just used to waking up alone " she put her hand back down beside her " To be honest Lee I have never slept overnight with anybody but you, strange isn't it?"

Lee shook his head " No Kara it isn't strange at least not to me, I have never done that either, I always left or made sure they did " Lee paused, he wanted to say this right " That is why I feel so strongly that there is something between us because even though we haven't had sex yet, I can't imagine not being with you Kara "

Kara leaned over and kissed his cheek quickly and stood up " I am heading to the showers I'll see you on the deck later " She took a step then stopped and looked down at him with a grin " Oh and Lee remember, when you least expect it expect it " with that said she left.

Lee watched her trot off and realized that with everything that had happened this morning he didn't even get a chance to see those cute little blue panties again. Oh well he thought as he got up, that just meant he had something to look forward to. Lee headed to his office with a smile on his face.

[BREAK]

After Kara had a shower and breakfast she headed to the bay where the raider was being kept. She was still a little concerned about her and Lee being together, but she had agreed to try it his way this time. Lee seemed to be sure that them going to the dance together was the right thing to do, so she would just follow his lead on this. She promised herself if the commander seemed okay with it she would try to mend things between them.

When she arrived at the bay she saw Racetrack and Skulls prepping the raptor. They must have moved it into the same bay with the raider earlier so they could launch together. Kara saw the chief and Gaeta walking around the raider so she headed their way. She stopped and watched them finish another turn around the raider wondering if something was wrong " Is everything okay?"

Gaeta answered her " Yes Captain, I am just rechecking things, nothing to worry about "

Kara hated when people said that, because somehow something almost always happened, instead of voicing that thought out loud she replied "Good to know "

Chief Tryol walked up after running his hands along the raider one more time " It's as ready as it is ever going to be Starbuck, are you ready?"

Starbuck rolled her eyes she knew the chief felt something special for the raider, so did she " Yes chief I'm as ready as I'm ever going to be too " she said mocking him.

Chief Tyrol laughed " Point taken Starbuck "

Gaeta interrupted them " Captain, I will be coming along in case something happens with the jump drives "

Kara nodded, she didn't really care who was in the raptor except for Lee, thinking about him she looked around " Have you guys seen Apollo?"

They both shook their heads no.

Kara took one last look at the raider then headed to the raptor.

Racetrack saw Starbuck heading their way so she handed off the rest of the checklist to Skulls, she had a pretty good idea what Starbuck wanted to know.

Kara looked around the bay before stopping in front of Racetrack " Have you seen Apollo?"

Racetrack grinned, she was right " He called and said he was running late, but should be here soon "

Kara had a strange feeling that today could end up changing her life, or maybe she just felt that way because of the decision she and Lee had made. Kara looked around the bay again looking first at the raider and back to the raptor, she couldn't shake the feeling.

Racetrack had been quietly watching Starbuck after answering her about Apollo and she seemed distracted which was a bit unusual for Starbuck, before she launched she was usually excited. " Is everything okay Starbuck?"

Racetrack's question brought Kara out of her thoughts " Yeah, sure every thing is great, I'm just ready to go "

Racetrack looked over Starbuck's shoulder " Here comes Apollo now, I'm gonna finish up, see you in the air Starbuck " she walked back over to help Skulls.

Kara turned around and watched as Lee walked towards her, she noticed he had a folder with him " What is that?" she asked looking at said folder

Lee had come to a stop when he reached her " This is why I am late, I wanted to grab my notes on the security layout for Cloud Nine, I figured I could go over them while we waited in between jumps "

Kara simply nodded, she still had that strange feeling " Makes sense, I'm gonna go get ready " she said as she started to walk away

Lee could tell she was distracted by the way she kept looking around " Captain " she stopped and looked back at him " Is there a problem?"

Kara shook her head " No Apollo I'm just ready to go " giving him the same answer she gave Racetrack she then walked off.

Lee watched her walk across the bay and she seemed to be okay so he let it go. Lee waited until Gaeta had came across the bay before boarding the raptor. He took the co-pilots seat while Gaeta sat in the back with Skulls.

After the raider and raptor had launched and they had checked in with CIC one last time they took their first jump.

[BREAK]

Commander Adama made sure he would be on shift in the CIC when they jump tested the raider. Not that he needed a reason to be in his own CIC, but he wanted to be there in case something came up during this mission.

He had not seen Starbuck since she got out of life station yesterday. He had talked with Lee briefly and he had said to give her a couple of days, Adama had agreed.

There was so much happening right now with the election coming up and the dance. His biggest worry at the moment was the raider and what it could mean for them if the jump tests turned out successful. Adama was not sure how they could use it, but at least they would have it ready if an opportunity presented itself.

Adama kept his eyes on the dradis, keeping an eye on the CAP and hoping that the cylons didn't show up before Starbuck and Apollo got back.

[BREAK]

Starbuck came out of the first jump that Gaeta had plotted and watched as the raptor jumped in seconds behind her. Kara had started to feel better once she hit open space after leaving the Galactica. " It's about time you guys showed up "

When Racetrack came out of her jump and saw the raider she jerked, for a split second her reflexes had her about to start evasive maneuvers, before she remembered Starbuck was in the raider. Instead of responding about them showing up she made her own statement " It is frakking creepy seeing you in that raider Starbuck "

Starbuck laughed " It feels frakking creepy, ask Gaeta how long before we jump again "

Gaeta took the head set Skulls had " We have about five minutes in between jumps just like I thought, but your colonial transponder keeps blinking on and off " he paused " If it does it on the next jump we are going to need to jump back to the Galactica "

Everybody could hear Starbuck inhale deeply " Why, it's highly unlikely I will get shot at, since there are no other colonials out here besides our fleet "

Apollo turned around and looked at Gaeta " Starbucks right, we need to finish this up today "

Gaeta nodded and handed the headset back to Skulls who said " We are getting ready to jump in 5-4-3-2-1-jump "

When they came out of the second jump Skulls monitors started beeping, Apollo turned around " What's going on, is it cylons?"

Skulls shook his head and started grinning " There is a planet out there and it is showing it as habitable "

Racetrack who had been looking around saw it first " Oh my gods there it is "

Gaeta practically ran to the front of the raptor even though it didn't take five steps to get there. He started flipping through a set of charts he carried with him getting more excited the closer he came to understanding what they had found " I think that is Kobol " he whispered

It took Gaeta saying Kobol for Lee to realize they hadn't heard a peep from Starbuck. He looked at Skulls monitors while they were still rambling about Kobol and didn't see her raider anywhere " Frak Kobol where is Starbuck?" he yelled

Lee tapped his headset " Starbuck report " he waited " Starbuck I said report!"

Everyone in the raptor became silent waiting to hear her respond. Gaeta went to the back of the raptor and checked the transponder and saw that it wasn't showing up. Skulls was back at his station checking his screens for any sign of her. Racetrack was getting ready to sweep the area.

Lee tried once more " Starbuck where are you?"

[BREAK]

Kara had jumped in seconds before them and although she didn't know a lot about charts or mapping somehow she knew without a doubt that she was looking at Kobol.

She heard the raptor when it jumped in and listened as they were figuring out what she already knew. Kara tuned them out as Leobon's words kept running through her mind ' You will find Kobol Kara and it will lead you to Earth ' and then ' When it is time I will come for you '

Kara finally heard Lee telling her to report, she looked over to her right and saw her colonial signal not blinking. She was about to respond when she remembered what happened this morning.

She knew she should not do it, but it was to good of an opportunity to pass it up. Kara slowly flew the raider around and dropped down facing the front of the raptor and she could see Lee standing there " Can you see me now Apollo?"

Lee heard then saw Kara as she appeared right in front of him " Frak you Starbuck, that was not funny "

Kara grinned even though he couldn't see her " You thought it was funny when you did it, and I did warn you payback would be a bitch "

Lee could feel everyone looking at him, so he turned around ignoring Starbuck and started issuing orders " Gaeta we will not be making the last jump, we need to gather as much intel as we can before rejoining the fleet "

Gaeta nodded without looking up he was already on it.

Lee turned to Skulls " Take as many scans and pictures as you can "

Then he looked at Racetrack " Let Starbuck know what we are doing and tell her to stay put "

Racetrack gave Apollo and odd look and started to do as he had ordered when Starbuck chimed in " You do know that I can hear you, right Apollo?"

Lee turned to look at her even though he couldn't see her " Then I assume you know your orders, right Starbuck?"

Kara gave him a smock salute, which he didn't see " Touche "

Lee turned around before she could see him grin. He knew he should be mad at her, but like she said this morning getting her back was going to be fun.

After they went back to work in the raptor Kara's mind drifted back to Leobon and the strange feeling she had before they left the Galactica. She wondered just how much finding Kobol was going to change her life.

Lee had turned back to look at Kara in the raider after about ten minutes of not hearing anything from her and knew she was probably thinking about Leobon and Kobol. As he stood there he began to remember Leobon's words himself, especially about Kobol leading them to Earth.

Lee heard the raptor crew finishing up and getting ready to return to the fleet " What we discovered today does not go beyond the people in this raptor " Lee knew he did not need to include Kara, she knew not to speak of it " When we get back I am sure the Commander will call a meeting to discuss our findings with the President and anyone else he feels it is necessary to include "

No one commented so he continued " Starbuck since your Colonial transponder is out, after we jump you should give a five count before jumping back to the fleet "

Starbuck had already planned on it " Good idea Apollo, I don't feel like getting shot at again, especially by our own pilots "

Lee chuckled before turning serious " Just make sure you make it home Starbuck "

Kara looked at Kobol one last time and whispered " I will Apollo " but he was already gone

[BREAK]

Back on the Galactica Adama was giving orders out in the CIC as fast as he could. Fifteen minutes ago a basestar had jumped in and had launched about thirty raiders. The viper pilots were doing everything they could to give the fleet time to jump away. There was not a pilot out there that did not wish Starbuck and or Apollo were there with them. Adama had placed Duck in charge of the pilots while they were away. Hindsight made him aware that he should have never let them both go on the same mission.

As Adama was watching dradis he saw another colonial transponder pop up, he wondered if it was Starbuck or Apollo. He did not have to wonder long as he heard Apollo start speaking rapidly, so he listened.

Racetrack and Apollo were both startled when they jumped back to the fleet and saw the Galactia and her vipers trying to hold off a basestar and her raiders.

After Lee's momentary surprise he became instantly aware of the danger Starbuck would be in when she jumped in without her colonial transponder, she would show up as the enemy to the vipers and Galactca's dradis. He didn't hesitate " Galactica this is Apollo, the colonial transponder is out on Starbucks raider, relay message to the vipers "

Lee had no idea if Kara had shown up yet " Starbuck if you are out there form up on us, it should keep the vipers from firing at you " he waited a second before repeating. Lee looked at their position, they had been lucky that they hadn't jumped in right in the middle of the battle, but the jump had put them closer to the basestar than the Galactica.

Lee practically jumped out of his seat when he heard her and the raider at almost the same time, she was developing a habit of silently dropping in " Apollo, Starbuck I think your plan has a flaw in it " Kara didn't give him time to respond she kept on talking " The vipers may not shoot at me, but what in the frak is going to stop the raiders from firing at you "

As she was talking Racetrack and Apollo saw three raiders heading their way " Starbuck if you have any ideas now is the time to share them "

Starbuck knew they didn't have much time " I have two, first one is we jump the frak out of here right now or the second one, I start taking out those raiders " the raptor had no weapons, but her and the chief had outfitted the raider with weapons.

The commander had been listening to them as he was keeping up with the battle, so he knew they would be jumping in the next two minutes. He wasted no time " Apollo and Starbuck you are both ordered to jump to emergency coordinates right now " Adama had no idea if the cylons realized that they had one of their raiders or not, he hoped not. That had been the deciding factor in his decision to have them jump.

Apollo answered " You heard the commander Starbuck jump on my mark, 5-4-3-2-1-jump "

[BREAK]

After the fleet was reunited and two more jumps were made, the crew from the mission, the president and the commander were all gathered in a conference room. No one had said anything, even the commander only knew from Apollo that it was important and to have the president at the meeting.

Racetrack and Skulls both felt out of place, but with them knowing about the discovery of Kobol they had to be in attendance. Racetrack took a moment to look around as every one was getting settled. She saw Gaeta getting all of his files in order, Apollo had the raptor footage ready to be shown, the president and commander were sitting down and Starbuck had the same look on her face that she had before they left on the mission earlier, she wondered what that was about.

Adama was the first one to speak " Okay Captain we are all here, care to fill us in?" he had no idea what they had found, but it seemed that Lee thought it was very important.

Lee looked around, he really didn't know how to start this, so he decided to just say it " We are almost certain that we found Kobol "

He heard Roslin gasp as she looked at him first then at Starbuck " How certain are you?"

Gaeta answered her " I have no doubt that it is Kobol " he then laid out the map of the solar system they were in and pointed it out " Here we are and this is where Kobol is "

Adama looked at all of it then looked at Lee " I take it you have footage of it to show us " he stated more than asked

Lee nodded and played the footage, there really wasn't much to look at except for the pictures of the entire planet taken from quite a bit of distance and scans of the atmosphere. Lee knew it was enough to send a team back to take closer pictures and land on the planet itself.

Kara had stayed silent during the meeting, she knew it would only be a matter of time before Roslin or Adama asked her something. She also knew they would not say anything until Racetrack, Skulls and Gaeta were excused from the meeting. Kara felt eyes on her and looked up to find Roslin looking at her. Here we go, she thought.

When the footage ended Adama spoke up " Gaeta, Racetrack, Skulls you three are dismissed with orders not to speak of this with anyone, understood? " they all three answered " Yes sir ' before leaving the room.

What happened next Lee thought would have been almost funny if not for the seriousness of the situation. Adama and Roslin who were seated directly across from him and Kara spoke at the same time " Captain Thrace " " Starbuck ". Lee closed his eyes a moment then dropped his hand beside him and laid it on top of Kara's hand where she had it resting on her leg.

Kara knew what was coming so when she felt Lee place his had on hers she turned hers over so that she could interlace her fingers with his, she then looked up to face Adama and Roslin and chose to answer Adama " Yes commander?" No one in the room mistook her reasons for responding the way she did. Kara might be upset with the commander about personal issues, but when it came to professional things she answered to her commander first.

Adama sighed, relieved that at least she still seemed to respect him as her commanding officer " Do you believe that this planet you found is Kobol?"

It was her turn to sigh, Kara knew Adama did not believe in the gods and even though Leobon had told her she would find Kobol she believed it was Kobol because she believed in the gods, this was all becoming so frakked up " Yes sir, I do "

Adama simply looked at her and asked " Why?"

Kara knew she could not say it was because of scans or star charts and she knew that they all knew that, so she answered him the only way she thought he might understand " My gut, sir "

Adama nodded he expected as much " Good enough for me "

Roslin cleared her throat " Commander, I would like to consult with the priestess Eloshi about Kobol "

Lee and Kara were both surprised when she decided not to question Kara, and waited to see how the commander would respond.

Adama did not want to get involved in any religious arguments if he could avoid it. " As long as she understands not to speak of it with anyone but you "

Everyone saw her glance at Starbuck before she answered " Okay "

Lee knew Kara was anxious to leave " Commander, Captain Thrace and I both have security detail issues we need to take care of on Cloud Nine, so if we are through we need to leave "

Adama nodded " You can both go, but I need a detailed report concerning the raider as soon as possible "

They both stood and saluted before exiting the room.

[BREAK]

After leaving the meeting Kara and Lee split up so they could change clothes before heading to Cloud Nine.

When Lee got to his office he called down to the deck and told them to have a raptor ready in ten minutes. After changing he headed down to the hangar bay and when he saw that Kara had not made it he went through the checklist with Cally while he waited on her. When he finished he looked for Kara and saw her talking with Boomer a few feet away.

It was the first time he had to really think about how much finding Kobol might affect her. He could only guess how much it might frak with someones mind to be told by a cylon that you would find Kobol and than to have it come true. Lee knew she had been quiet before the mission but she seemed more like herself after they began. He smiled thinking that if he could find a way to pay her back maybe he could lighten things up a bit for her.

Kara had finished talking with Boomer and was heading to the raptor when she saw Lee looking her way and smiling so she headed over to him "What are you smiling about Apollo?"

Lee just grinned " You will find out later " he boarded the raptor after she did and stopped because she had " Why did you stop?"

Ordinarily Kara would have wanted to and have been the one to pilot the raptor, but she did not feel like flying it . Looking back over her shoulder at him she answered him " You can fly us over Apollo, I think I've had enough for one day " she went and sat in the passenger seat

Well that pretty much shocked him " You just want to make me your own personal pilot, don't you?" he replied as he took the pilots seat.

Kara smiled and threw back the words he had said to her this morning " You caught me "

They both remained silent after that until they had landed and existed the raptor.

As they were walking towards the front entrance Kara looked beside her at Lee " Where do we start Captain?"

Lee glanced at her " Inside then work our way out, Kara " he made a point of saying her name in a way that she would know to drop the rank.

Kara grinned, it had felt like a long day already, so she was glad that he had reminded her they were alone now " Okay Lee, lead the way "

Lee grinned back and started going over all of the security issues that he thought needed to be addressed concerning the security inside of Cloud Nine.

Kara took note of everything he showed her and remained silent as he led them back outside. She thought he would continue talking and start pointing out what needed changing outside, instead he went and sat down on the fake grass in a park like area. " What are you doing Lee?"

Lee looked up at her and smiled " I am taking a break Kara, why don't you join me "

Kara gave him a slight smile, but shook her head and started looking around " You know there are a lot of places out here that would be perfect for a sniper "

Lee was laying on his back with his head resting on his heads and his eyes closed " I know Kara and we will get back to it in a while, this feels nice you should try it "

Kara stopped looking around to glance at him before continuing " I hate politics, how in the frak did we end up with this anyway? " he didn't answer " Why do you think we found Kobol?" still no answer, so she started walking a bit farther away from him " The commander said he knew the way to Earth so why would we need Kobol?" she kept rambling, she was starting to freak out about Kobol and Leobon " How do you think a cylon would know that we would find Kobol?" she turned as she finished asking to see if Lee had fallen asleep, instead he was standing there with a water hose aimed at her " You had better not frakking ' she couldn't finish as she was soon being sprayed with it by Lee.

Lee had really planned on just relaxing, but he could tell Kara was getting herself wound up as everything that had happened today was finally catching up with her. He saw a gardener who had been watering some plants nearby put his water hose down and it gave him an idea. Not only for pay back, but to help get Kara out of tying herself up in knots with all that finding Kobol meant. Lee silently went and picked the hose up and was ready when she turned around.

Lee started laughing as she jumped back and yelled when the water hit her. Kara started trying to run from him but he chased her with it continuing to try and soak her completely. He quit laughing when Kara turned to run toward him, he tightened his grip on the hose now trying to spray her enough to keep her back.

Kara couldn't believe Lee was spraying water at her, at first she tried to get away from him by running. That lasted about a minute before she changed tactics and went to take it from him. Lee kept spraying but she wasn't giving up " I am going to get you Lee " she started laughing as she made it to him and they were both fighting over control of the hose.

As they were both laughing and struggling for the water hose they fell to the ground. It caused Lee's grip to loosen and gave Kara control of the hose. They were both laughing out loud as Kara got him on his back and straddled him ready to stick the hose down his shorts when suddenly the water stopped.

They both looked around at the same time and realized a crowd had gathered and saw that of all people Colonel Tigh was standing there, him having been the one to turn the water off.

For a long minute they all three seemed frozen in place before Tigh broke the moment " Aren't you two still on duty?"

Lee was trying to get Kara off of him so he could stand up, but she had started laughing so hard he couldn't. Lee looked and saw that Tigh was still waiting for an answer so he pinched Kara really hard on her ass and she yelped and jerked like he expected and he took the chance to sit her off of him. Lee looked at her and saw she was still laughing " Kara stop " he then made and effort to stand up. As soon as he stood up one of his shoes slipped on the wet grass and he ended up back flat of his ass and Kara's laughing reached a whole other level. " Frak " was all Lee had to say before giving and joining her.

By the time they got themselves under control and had stood up Tigh was gone. Lee looked at Kara " I wonder why he left?"

Kara chuckled " He probably couldn't figure out what to charge us with " Kara thought as she had found a dry place to sit down and stretched out in the fake sun " Water fight, unauthorized use of a water hose, or public laughing just to name a few " she shrugged

Lee had been trying to squeeze water out of his shirts without taking them off because they still had a small audience, grinned at her. " Your probably right " he finally gave up and sat beside her " You know you were the only one that was supposed to get wet "

Kara smirked at him " You need to start thinking your plans through " she said referring to the earlier one when they had first jumped back to the fleet.

Lee was glad to see that it had at least gotten her out of thinking about Kobol and Leobon " I agree at least when they concern you "

Kara closed her eyes " Thanks Lee "

Lee squeezed her hand he didn't need to ask her what for, they both knew.

After they had dried out as much as those were going to Kara sat up " We need to finish this security stuff I have something I need to do "

Lee who had laid back down sat up also " What?"

Kara stood up " It is personal Lee "

Lee got up " Okay, then let's finish up then, I will go and see Mark while you do whatever it is you have to do, unless you were going to see Mark "

Kara shook her head " Nope you can visit Mark and I'll meet up with you when I finish " Kara did not want him to know she was trying to find a dress for the dance.

As they finished up outside they never knew that they were being watched by Adam.

[Break]

* * *

( Leave a comment )


	20. Chapter 20

A Different Beginning-Chapter 20

A.N.-Sorry I took so long getting back to this and as always any mistakes are all mine.

[BREAK]**************************************************************************************************************

When Kara left Lee outside of the restaurant she went in search of a clothing store hoping that one still existed. After searching for thirty minutes she finally found what ended up being the last store open. As she looked around she realised it was more of an exchange store for several different things and found very few dresses. Kara hated shopping for clothes and after looking at the few dresses she had found she put them back knowing that she did not like any of them. With a frustrated sigh she left the store and went to meet up with Lee.

As she entered the restaurant she saw Lee and Mark sitting at a small table overlooking the garden outside. Kara stopped for a moment to watch them, she was glad to see that they were chatting and seemed relaxed with each other. Since she didn't know Lee from before the attacks she had no idea how he would react in a social setting. Kara was glad that her instincts were right because Mark and Lee seemed to like each other. As she moved to go and join them Lee looked her way and smiled.

Mark turned to see what had caught Lee's attention, not surprised it was Kara. He stood up and waited until she reached them and pulled a chair out for her. After motioning to the waiter he let him know with a gesture to bring more drinks.

Lee could tell something was wrong with Kara " Did you take care of your personal business? "

Kara shrugged " Not really, what have you guys been up to?"

Lee knew she wouldn't say anything else about where she had been " We were talking about how busy Cloud Nine would be tomorrow "

Mark spoke up then " I had to hire a few people to work tomorrow especially with Adam being away for a couple of days "

Kara waited until the waiter left after bringing their drinks " Where did Adam go? "

Lee asked his own question before Mark answered " Why would he leave when he knew you would be so busy?"

Mark put his drink down after taking a swallow " Adam goes over to the Aurora several times a month "

Lee thought a minute trying to remember the Aurora " Is that where most of the religious people live?"

Kara answered " Not all of them, just the priests, priestess and the most devote "

Kara had been a few times herself " It has a temple on it where people go to pray Lee " Kara paused " It is not large enough for every religious person to live there "

Kara looked toward Mark " Does Adam believe in the Gods?"

Mark nodded his head " I think so, he goes to help them stock their rations and helps them with other things if he can " Adam paused wondering if he should say more and decided it couldn't hurt, Adam had told him about his visits to the Aurora and he also told him he believed in the gods, but more than that he believed in the prophecy about Aurora " Actually the people living on the ship believe that Aurora is or will be with the fleet soon"

Kara's eyes widened " Why would they believe that?"

Mark shrugged " They claim that an oracle had told them about it a long time ago and told them to prepare for it "

Kara was trying to wrap her head around it all " How did they know to be on board a ship before the colonies were destroyed?"

Mark didn't have an answer for that except what Adam had told him in a round about way " From what little I know it seems they have been living on the Aurora for many years "

Lee knew Kara believed in the Gods, but he wondered if Mark did " What about you Mark, do you believe in the Gods?"

Mark laughed " If you had asked me that before the attacks I would have said no, but in light of new information I am beginning to " Mark looked at Lee " What about you Lee?"

Lee looked at Kara " No not really, I choose to believe in people, one in particular "

Kara blushed at Lee's remark then looked at Mark " Before you ask, yes I believe in the Gods, always have "

Lee needed to go to the hotel " I need to pick something up from the hotel desk clerk, I should be back in thirty minutes if you want to finish your drink Kara and visit with Mark "

At Kara's nod he excused himself.

[BREAK]**************************************************************************************************************

Kara and Mark sat in silence for a minute. Mark could see Kara's mind was on something else. " What are you thinking about Kara?"

Kara had forgot he was sitting there " I told Lee I had something to do earlier, but didn't tell him what, now I'm glad I did not say anything because it didn't work out "

Mark waited a second before commenting " Tell me about it maybe I can help "

Kara laughed " Unless you like dressing up as a woman I doubt you can help " Kara sighed " I wanted to find a dress for the dance to surprise Lee, he has never seen me in anything but military clothes except the time I had dinner with you and that was just jeans and a shirt "

It was Mark's turn to laugh, he stood up and reached for her hand " Come with me I think I can help you "

Kara was intrigued so she followed him and they ended up in what had to be his room at the back of the restaurant. The room was about the size of the commanders quarters, it had a double size bed and a desk in the corner with a couple of paintings on the wall. Kara began moving closer to look at the paintings when Mark spoke.

Mark pointed to a chair at the desk " Sit down Kara, I just need to get something "

Kara sat and watched as he opened what seemed to be a closet and brought several dresses and a box and laid them on the bed " My girlfriend kept a few things here, she would help out as a hostess when I had to work "

Kara looked back and forth between Mark and the dresses " I can't wear those Mark they belonged to the woman you loved, it wouldn't be right "

Mark took her hand and pulled her up " Yes you can Kara, besides I was going to donate them to the exchange store, but I would much rather you wear one of them "

Kara could not think of a reason not to since he was going to get rid of them anyway, so she went and picked up one of the two dresses on the bed. The first one was a half sleeve dark blue one that looked like it would fall just below her knees, she put it down and picked up the second one it was a sleeveless black dress. " What is in the box Mark?"

Mark smiled " It is a new dress that I picked out for her as a surprise the next time she came to visit, open it up, since I've met you I think this dress is more like you than it would have been for her "

Kara felt bad going through Mark's girlfriends things and even worse opening a gift that she would never know about, she looked at Mark " I can't Mark it doesn't seem right "

Mark picked the box up and handed it to her " This is now my gift to you and if we don't hurry Lee will be back and it will spoil the surprise "

Kara knew he was right so she opened the box. She gasped as she pulled the dress out and held it before her. It was a silky dress with different shades of green, sleeveless with one inch straps, a zipper in the back that ended just below her shoulder blades leaving the rest of it backless. When she held it against her it fell about three inches above her knees and she wouldn't have to worry about a bra as it had cups in it. Kara loved it.

Kara turned to Mark " I like this one, I just hope it fits, and now I just need to find some shoes " Kara held out the dress to Mark " Can I leave it here until I can sneak back over to try it on?"

Mark took the dress and put it on a hangar and put them all back in the closet " You can stop by whenever you get a chance "

Before they left the room Kara grabbed Mark and hugged him " Thank you Mark for the dress and for being mine and Lee's friend "

Mark pulled back from Kara " Your welcome Kara and I should be the one thanking you " she gave him a questioning look " I don't have many friends either, just co-workers like you and Lee have "

As they were headed back Kara thought about Racetrack, she glanced sideways at Mark " There is someone coming to the dance that I want you to meet "

Mark looked at her and laughed " So I take that to mean you have basically picked out my date for me "

Kara shrugged " Kinda, but I think you will like her Mark she is a raptor pilot "

Mark just shook his head and laughed.

They had just sat back down when Lee joined them, but he remained standing " As much as I would like to stay and have another drink we have to get back to the Galactica "

Kara nodded and got up.

Lee waited until Mark stood up " Thanks for the drinks Mark, if we don't see you tomorrow we will see you at the dance "

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

When they arrived back on the Galactica Kara headed to the showers after agreeing to meet Lee in the mess hall later. Lee went to his office to drop off the hotel guest list and grab a shower himself.

After getting dressed Lee sat down at his desk to write up his report on the raider. He decided to postpone Kara's test in the raider until the day after the dance. Lee needed to make sure the colonial transponder was working without glitches, besides they had a full day planned tomorrow between security for the election and the dance.

After stopping by the CIC to hand in his report and speaking with Gaeta he headed to the mess to meet up with Kara.

When he entered the mess hall he saw Kara already eating. Lee grabbed something to eat and joined her.

Kara looked up when he sat down watching him poke at what was on his plate, she laughed " Don't bother asking me what it is, I don't know "

Lee took a bite and was barely able to keep it down " I wonder how often I could get away with eating at Mark's restaurant?"

Kara chuckled " I was thinking the same thing and I plan on finding out "

Lee silently agreed " I postponed your raider test jump for the morning after the dance " he hoped it wouldn't make her mad

Kara gave a relived sigh " Thank gods, after the day we just had and the full day we have tomorrow I was planning on asking you to delay it "

They finished eating in silence.

Kara finished first and stood up " I am so tired I am going to hit my rack, I'll see you in the morning " she laid a hand on his shoulder as she walked by on her way to put her tray up.

Lee had gotten up also " I'll walk with you, I think I am going to turn in also " Kara nodded

Before they parted Lee gave her a quick kiss on her cheek after checking to make sure no one was watching " Don't forget you need to write up your report on the raider " he reminded her

Kara rolled her eyes " You have already turned yours in, haven't you?"

Lee nodded and chuckled before walking away " See you in the morning Kara, sweet dreams " he said over his shoulder.

[Break]***************************************************************************************************************

Kara woke up feeling refreshed, she couldn't believe how well she had slept without Lee having to be there with her. She stood up next to bunk stretching out her muscles when she felt someone walking toward her, she stopped and looked up to see Racetrack heading her way.

Maggie cleared her throat before speaking. Even though Starbuck had asked her to meet her friend she was still nervous around her because of Apollo. " Were you able to find a dress for the dance?"

Kara smiled thinking of the dress " Yes, but not in a store, the only one left is an exchange store, but I still have to find some shoes " Kara paused before asking " What are you wearing?"

Racetrack went to her locker and finally came out holding a short black dress that looked like it would be a couple of inches above her knees " I kept this one so I would have one when I had downtime off plus a pair of black slip on shoes "

Kara smiled " I'm sure Mark will love it, I might have to go barefoot I don't think I will have any luck finding shoes that will go with the dress I will be wearing "

Racetrack put her dress away " What color is the dress?"

Kara snorted " About three different shades of green "

Racetrack thought a minute " You might have to go with sandals, if not I am sure Apollo wouldn't mind you be barefoot "

Kara who was getting dressed for Cloud Nine snorted " I am not going barefoot I will just have to find some " she said as she got ready to leave.

Racetrack spoke as Kara was leaving " I'll check around for you maybe between the two of us we will find something "

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

Lee had been waiting for Kara on the flight deck, she was already ten minutes late. He finally saw her making her way to him and spoke when she reached him " Where have you been you are ten minutes late?"

Kara rolled her eyes at him " I was talking to Maggie and "

He didn't let her finish " Who the frak is Maggie?"

Kara pushed past him into the raptor as she answered " Maggie is Racetrack Lee, gods do you know any of your pilots real names?"

Lee took the co-pilots seat " I know yours " Lee took a breath " Anyway I only need to know their call signs "

Kara didn't respond.

As they powered up the raptor he asked " What would you and Racetrack have to talk about anyway?"

Kara mind was on finding a pair of shoes and trying to think of a way of getting away from Lee long enough to try on the dress " It was personal "

Lee knew better than to ask so he let it drop.

Kara looked over at Lee wondering why he had gotten so silent " What are you thinking about Lee?"

Lee looked at her " The security detail, all of the marines will be in plain clothes inside, while the others in uniform will remain on watch outside "

Kara knew that wasn't all " Where will we be?"

Lee was watching them approach Cloud Nine " We will be inside the meeting hall, I want you to stay close to Roslin and I will keep watch on Baltar and Zarek "

Kara nodded and after getting clearance landed the raptor on Cloud Nine.

[Break]****************************************************************************************************************

Kara sighed she was getting bored standing here listening to them talk politics and while keeping one eye on Roslin she started checking out the shoes of the women closest to her. So far she didn't see any she liked, so as soon as they took a break she was going to try on the dress Mark had given her and then head back to the exchange store to look for shoes. Kara knew Lee would wonder where she was so she would have to hurry.

Kara could here Lee calling her through her ear mic "Starbuck report "

Kara glanced across the room at him and he looked mad, she wondered how long he had been calling her " I hear you Apollo and there is nothing to report "

Lee knew Kara had zoned out, but he let it go " We will be breaking in five minutes, do you want to meet up?"

Kara would have to lie to him " I can't I need to hit the head and pick up something I'll see you back here after break "

Lee wasn't happy about it but he wasn't going to push her about it either " Fine, just be back here on time "

Kara sighed " I plan on it sir " she couldn't help being snarky

Roslin called for a break and Kara fled the room almost before she finished.

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

Lee was heading over to Roslin when he saw her speaking to the priestess who must be Eloshi. He stopped and waited for her to finish. He could see that she was holding a book.

After reading a few passages Roslin handed the book back " Eloshi are you sure this has to be done?"

Eloshi put her hand on Roslins arm " The way Pythia wrote it, Kobol is the place that the thirteen tribe first saw there way to Earth and we will need the arrow of Apollo so that we may see what they saw "

Roslin nodded " With us finding Kobol the sooner we get the arrow the better " Roslin squeezed Eloshi shoulder " Don't worry about it I will find a way to get the arrow "

After Eloshi left Lee walked over to the president. " I saw you talking to Eloshi, were you asking for guidance about the elections?" he asked joking

Roslin shook her head " That and other things as well "

Lee turned to leave " I have to check in at the hotel I'll be back soon "

Before he took another step Roslin asked " Is the cylon raider ready for flight again?"

Lee wondered why she would want to know that " It is, but Starbuck will be taking it for one more flight in the morning "

Roslin walked past him after saying " Thank you Captain Apollo "

Lee left heading to the hotel, he was also going to reserve a room in case Kara wanted to stay after the dance.

[Break]

Mark looked up from behind the bar when Kara came trotting in. When she saw him she motioned toward the back.

He smiled " Go ahead I'll keep watch out here " he knew she was afraid Lee might come in.

Kara nodded and took off. Once inside she locked the door and pulled out the dress. She stripped off everything she did not want to mess the dress up with her sweat.

Kara took the dress out of the box and put it on. Even though the dress hadn't been meant for her it fit her body perfectly. Kara needed a second opinion so she opened the door slowly and walked into the corridor close to the bar so she could get Mark's attention. When he finally looked her way she motioned him to follow her.

Kara stood in the middle of the room so he could see her when he walked in " Wow Kara "

Kara spun around once " So, do you think Lee will like it?"

Mark chuckled " Lee will love it, you will be lucky to get one dance before he drags your ass out of there "

Kara was puzzled " Why do you think that?"

Mark chuckled " Kara the way you look in that dress is going to drive him crazy and he is going to want you all to himself "

Kara blushed " Thanks Mark for everything, now I need to run down some shoes before I have to get back to work "

Mark thought for a second " My girlfriend has two pair of shoes in the closet, I know they don't go with that dress, but if you can't find anything else those are here if you need them.

After Kara put her uniform back on she dashed out of the restaurant after making sure Lee wasn't there and headed to the exchange shop.

Kara rushed into the store and went straight to the shoes. Lucky for her they has separated the men and women shoes. After digging around and finding nothing she was about to give up when she spotted what looked like pale green shoes. Kara pulled them out and sat down to take off her shoes. They were green open toed shoes that had a three inch heel and looked like they had green glitter on them. Kara prayed they would fit as she tried one on she then put the other one on and stood up to see how they felt. They were half a size to big but she didn't care. She took them off and after putting her boots back on she went and gave her last cubits for them.

Kara knew she was late but she needed to hide the shoes. Kara made a quick dash back to the bar and threw them on the bar " Mark please put these in your room "

He nodded and she trotted off.

[BREAK]****************************************************************************************************************

Kara rushed back into the meeting stopping to stand behind Roslin. She looked across the room and saw Lee glaring at her. " You are late Starbuck"

Kara whispered " I know Lee and I'm sorry but there was something I needed to do "

Lee whispered also " What was so important that you would be late for security detail?"

Kara glared at him then " I will tell you everything at the dance "

Lee nodded and they went back to work.

After an hour Tory came and whispered to the president. " I'm sorry, but I have to call another break something important has come up, we will reconvene in an hour " then she left

Lee met Kara half-way and they went to the outside bar to have a drink. Well Kara had a drink Lee had water. They sat at the table not talking until Kara spoke up " Don't be mad Lee, I had something to do and that was the only time I could do it "

Lee finally looked at her " Fine, but don't forget you promised to tell me at the dance "

About that time Mark walked over to them " Is it over or are you guys on break? ' he asked as he sat down

" Break " they both mumbled at the same time

Lee had been listening to some guy talking on and on about how bad of a president Roslin was. He was sick of it. " I am getting another water do you guys want something?"

Mark grinned " I'll take a beer "

Kara knew what Lee was doing she just hoped it didn't turn into something bad " I'll take another one of these fruity things "

Lee nodded and went to the bar. Kara backed her chair away from the table, while keeping an eye on Lee.

Mark noticed " Are you leaving?"

Kara didn't look at him as she was watching Lee " No, just getting ready "

Mark followed Kara's line of sight " Getting ready for what?"

To the untrained eye no one could tell something was going to happen, but Kara knew Lee and how mad the drunk guy was irritating him.

Kara couldn't here the words but she could hear the tone and in an instant the man had knocked Lee to the ground and he continued to try and strangle Lee.

Kara got up as she saw another man headed their way, but before she took two steps she bumped into another man who was trying to flee. His briefcase fell out of his hand knocking it open and Kara immediately saw it had a gun in it. Before Kara went for the gun she kicked a bottle in Lee's direction which he grabbed and knocked the man on his head with it knocking him out. Lee pushed him off and found Kara struggling with a man as she tried to reach the gun before he did.

When she saw Lee had the gun she stopped struggling and elbowed the man as hard as she could with a backward elbow hit. Lee walked over and helped her up.

Lee radioed two marines to come and place the two men under arrest. After they were arrested Kara and Lee went back to sit with Mark.

The bartender brought their drinks over and said they were on the house. " Frak Lee I think I just found a way to get some of my drinks for free"

"Don't even think about Starbuck" Lee took a swallow of Kara's drink, all of a sudden water wasn't enough. " Keep your hands off my drink Lee, get your own " she then winked at him

Lee stood up " I need to brief the president and then we need to start the interrogation Captain, so I'll meet you in thirty minutes, I'll see you later Mark "

Kara looked over at Mark " Why are you so silent?"

Mark rolled his eyes " Does this sort of thing happen often to you two?"

Kara chuckled " Not really, we are just viper pilots, security is not really our thing "

Mark shook his head " Well you both seem to know what to do "

Kara smiled " Some of it is military training and I don't know about Lee, but I learned most of it in bar fights "

Kara finished her drink before getting up she asked Mark " Is it okay if I get dressed at your place for the dance?"

Mark stood up when Kara did " Sure most of you stuff is here already "

Kara looked out over the courtyard " I will probably ask Lee to bring Maggie over with him and hope people don't get the wrong idea, I would hate to end up in the brig "

Mark let that slide " So Racetracks name is Maggie?"

Kara nodded " I'll see you later Mark "

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

Kara met up with Lee on the first floor of the hotel in a room that was used mostly for storage. It was far enough away that know one could hear him if he yelled. They had agreed for Kara to play the good cop and Lee the bad cop.

Kara had to agree Lee made a very bad cop but after two hours they were still not getting answers.

Lee knew they had wasted enough time with him and needed to move on. " Captain let's go and see the guy who had the gun and see what he has to say "

Kara took one last look at the guy tied to the chair " Don't go anywhere we will be back "

They were on their way to a regular room to see the guy with the gun he probably just got paid to bring the gun onto the ship. he didn't seem like one of Zareks regular goons.

When they entered the room they found him hanging with a noose around his neck with a rope thrown across a beam.

Kara scoffed " Well there goes that information "

Lee nodded, but he really didn't think this guy knew anything other than the person who paid him. " Oh Gods, Kara we need to get back to the other guy it looks like somebody is tying up loose ends "

They took off running back only to find this guy dead too, it looked like he had been stabbed to death.

As they were walking back to the meeting Lee stopped Kara " There is a leak somewhere, this was too easy to be anything else "

They stepped back into the meeting just as Baltar was named Vice-President. They both thought they had failed at their jobs.

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

After all the debriefings it was time to get ready for the dance. " We need to get back to the Galactica to change before the dance Kara "

Kara grabbed Lees hand until he was facing her " Lee I am getting ready here, all my things are here already " she paused " Could you do me a big favor and give Maggie a ride over here with you?"

Lee studied her for a minute " Is this also because of what you were doing earlier?"

Kara grinned " Yep "

Lee rolled his eyes " What if I can't get her to come with me?"

This time Kara rolled her eyes " She will come Lee, besides she already knows I want her to meet Mark "

Lee looked around and didn't see anyone and pulled her close " I hope your matchmaking doesn't backfire " then he kissed her slow and deep and when he pulled back from the kiss he held her close " You are gonna owe me big time Kara "

Kara was still in his arms " I pay my bets Adama "

[Break]****************************************************************************************************************

Kara stayed until the raptor Lee was piloting left and then she headed inside the restaurant.

Mark met her as soon as she came in " I know you came to get ready, but you probably haven't eaten all day " he saw her start to say something "Look Kara I haven't eaten either so I made us a couple of sandwiches and found an empty table so please join me and eat something "

Kara nodded " Okay you twisted my arm so let's eat " she followed him to a table already set up with food and drinks

They were both silent as they ate, Mark paused before taking another bite " Ever since we talked about the gods and Aurora I have been wanting to ask you something "

Kara with food in her mouth simply said " Shoot "

Mark put his sandwich down " Were both your parents religious?"

She wasn't expecting that " At first they both were then my mom drifted away from it " she paused to take a sip of her drink " My dad was the one that was fully devoted to it, I used to go with him a lot, but I became a believer for myself not because of my dad. Even after he left I still snuck away from my mom and went to temple wherever she was stationed "

Mark knew his next question might make her mad " When and why did your dad leave Kara?"

Kara didn't know why Mark was asking her all of this, Kara placed her hands in her lap " He left when I was eight, I don't know why except that my mom said he left because of me "

Mark closed his eyes a moment " I'm sorry Kara "

Kara looked at him " Why did you ask Mark?"

Mark sighed " I have recently began to believe in the gods and you believe so easily I just needed to understand why "

Kara gave him a small smile " After my dad left and my mom became what she became the gods was all I had left and they have never let me down"

Mark nodded " One more question and I will stop, do you believe Aurora is or will be with the fleet someday?"

Kara thought about it " I don't believe that we will see the actual goddess herself, but she could take the form of someone worthy that the gods have chosen, but we will probably never know who that person is "

Mark finished his sandwich while she was talking " It is time for you to get ready and I have to get back to work "

After Kara stood up she asked shyly " Is it okay if I use your shower?"

Mark chuckled " Go ahead and there is probably some stuff my girlfriend left behind so feel free to use it "

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

When Lee made it back to the Galactica he headed straight to the mess. He had forgotten if he ate today. After getting his tray he looked around for a place to sit. Lee saw Dee sitting by herself and looked away there was no way he was sitting with her.

Finally he saw Crashdown and Racetrack sitting together so he headed their way. " Hey guys got room for one more?"

They both motioned for him to sit and Lee looked up catching Dee looking at him like she was angry. Lee literally shook.

Racetrack caught it and glanced behind her to see what was bothering Apollo " Looks like she still hasn't given up "

Lee sighed " I know and it is starting to creep me out "

Chrashdown chuckled " I wouldn't worry I'm sure Starbuck will straighten her out, by the way where is she?"

Apollo finished swallowing " She is getting ready on Cloud Nine " he looked at Racetrack " Kara told me to escort you to Cloud Nine for the dance"

Racetrack looked at him like he was lying " I swear that is what she told me and we need to leave in an hour " Lee thought a minute " Is that enough time for you to get ready?"

Racetrack laughed as she got up " I'll be ready Apollo "

Lee turned to look at her before she went through the hatch " I mean it Maggie one hour if I am going to escort you to the dance "

They heard a gasp and turned to see Dee covering her mouth with one hand. Crash looked at Apollo " I bet you ten cubits she thinks you are taking Racetrack to the dance "

Lee sighed " Probably I wonder how long before that rumor starts up?"

Lee got up and left to go get ready.

[BREAK]****************************************************************************************************************

After Kara laid out her dress and shoes she headed to take a shower. Mark was right there was some vanilla scented shampoo, vanilla scented soap and a razor. Kara spun around in the shower smiling she had hit the jackpot with all this stuff.

Kara washed her hair first taking her time instead of rushing then she washed her body. After soaping her body one more time she grabbed the razor and shaved herself thoroughly. With that done she washed her body one more time since this would probably be her last chance to do so.

She turned the water off and stepped out grabbing the towel she had hung on a hook outside the shower door. Kara then walked to the sink and saw a small tube of toothpaste she squeezed out a small drop on her finger and brushed her teeth as well as she could.

Kara stepped away from the sink and finished drying off her body and then flipped the towel around and dried her hair.

Kara walked into the bedroom and on the nightstand she spotted some lotion. She only meant to smell it, but it smelled like vanilla also. Feeling guilty she put some in her hands and rubbed it on her legs, gods that feels good she thought.

Kara then walked to the bed and put the dress on finally managing to zip it up. All of a sudden she remembered she did not have clean panties, she wondered if she could call Lee up and have him grab her blue ones. No she couldn't do that, that only left one thing to do go without any. She sat down and put on her shoes, now she needed a brush.

So Kara went in search of a brush trying not to snoop. Luckily she found one in the bathroom hanging on a nail, so she quickly brushed her hair hoping it would dry soon.

Kara went out to let Mark know she was finished so he could take his turn. She saw Mark sitting at the bar so she went over and sat down beside him, she reached out to touch his shoulder and he jumped before turning around and seeing her. " I'm sorry I didn't mean to startle you Mark "

Mark looked her over " Stand up Kara " he waited until she did " You look beautiful "

Kara blushed " Thank you and I'm sorry I think I used every vanilla scented product you had "

Mark laughed " That's okay I don't think smelling like vanilla would make me very manly "

Kara sat back down " It is your turn to get ready Lee and Maggie should be here soon "

Mark looked around " I should stay here and work "

Kara stood up and pulled him to his feet " No you don't, your staff can handle it you need to take a night off " she shoved him towards his room "Go get ready "

Mark started laughing " I'm beginning to think you are a bad influence "

After he left Kara sat back down and ordered a fruity drink, she didn't know what they were called but she liked them. As she sat there she looked around, everybody seemed to be happy for a change.

Kara was into her second drink when Mark showed back up wearing a white shirt and a pair of black dress pants trying to put on his tie. He sat down next to her and after a second try he just stuffed the tie in his pocket.

Kara stood up " They should be here soon let's walk toward the docking bay "

About half-way there they met up with Lee and Maggie they all stopped and stared at each other. Kara noticed that Maggie had worn her hair down she had no idea Racetracks hair looked like that.

Kara then looked at Lee " What's wrong Adama, did you forget how to talk?"

Lee shook his head no, Kara looked at Mark who was looking at Maggie " Mark this is Maggie and Maggie this is Mark "

Mark finally found his voice " Nice to meet you Maggie, you look beautiful "

Maggie was having difficulty speaking this guy is gorgeous " Hi Mark "

Racetrack looked at Kara " Starbuck I hate to say this, but you look stunning in that dress, it's like it was made for you "

Kara was stunned for a moment " Thank you, your dress looks good also, but your hair is pretty, wow I never knew you had hair like that"

Racetrack nudged Lee in his side with her elbow " Apollo you still with us?"

Kara started laughing loudly " I finally figured out how to shut you up Lee "

Lee still didn't say anything he just reached and grabbed her wrist and pulled her to him, he took his fingers and lifted her head and leaned in and kissed her then pulled back " My gods Kara you are so beautiful "

Kara gave him a once over " You don't look so bad yourself Lee " he was in his dress greys

Kara turned around and saw Mark and Maggie talking " Let's head to the dance guys "

[BREAK]****************************************************************************************************************

As they were nearing the ballroom Kara started getting scared about seeing the commander. She pulled on Lee's hand to stop him.

Lee could tell something was wrong by the look on Kara's face " What's wrong Kara?"

Kara wrapped her arms around herself " Maybe we shouldn't go in together "

Lee sighed " Is this about dad Kara?"

She nodded

Lee saw Mark and Maggie waiting " You guys can go on in we will be in shortly "

Maggie still had her arm in Mark's " Come on Mark we will find a table "

Mark nodded and walked with her " Is something wrong with Kara?"

Maggie wasn't sure " She is fine, Starbuck and Apollo have a lot of history even though they just met a few months ago. If I had to guess it is probably about Lee's dad Commander Adama "

" Let's find that table, then we can watch when they come in because in this case seeing it is easier than explaining it " Maggie said as they sat down

Lee took Kara's hand " Come on Kara dad will be okay with it, besides I thought we agreed to do it my way this time "

Kara laughed Lee is right " Fine let's get this over with so I can get one of those fruity drinks "

They linked their hands and walked through the door, at first nothing happened then word must have spread quickly because half the room stopped what they were doing to look at them.

Kara whispered to Lee " Guess who owes who now Lee?"

Lee ignored everyone else looking for his dad, finally he saw him next to the bar watching them.

Lee tugged her hand " Come on Kara I see dad "

Kara walked along with him until they were standing in front of the commander " Hello dad, are you enjoying the party?"

Adama gave Lee a look that could have meant anything " I would ask you to introduce your date to me but since I already know her, Kara look at me"

Kara looked up slowly to meet her commanders eyes " Hello sir "

Adama reached out to touch the side of her face " You look beautiful Kara, my son is a lucky man to have you as his date and in his life personally"

Kara was trying so hard not to cry so Adama pulled her into a hug while she got herself together.

He let go " Now go enjoy yourselves with your friends and save a dance for me Kara "

When Lee and Kara turned to head over to Mark and Maggie she was smiling from ear to ear.

Mark looked at Maggie " That was a bit tense no wonder Kara was worried "

Maggie agreed " The commander has always treated her like his daughter, his approval means everything to her "

They reached the table and sat down "Lee I want one of those fruity drinks now "

Lee looked at her " They have names Kara how will they know which fruity drink you want?"

Mark stood up " I'll get us all one I know which one she is talking about "

Kara nudged Lee " Go help him "

As soon as they left Kara pounced on Maggie " So do you like him?"

Maggie nodded " Not only is he good looking, he is interesting also"

At the bar Lee asked Mark the same thing " Do you like her?"

Mark looked at him " She is very pretty and easy to talk to "

Crashdown walked up where they were " Apollo what bet did Starbuck lose for you to get her in a dress?"

Lee smiled " She didn't lose any bet Crash she wore that all on her own "

"Crashdown this is Mark a friend of mine and Starbucks, Mark this is one of our viper pilots Crashdown "

Crash seemed to think a second " Are you the one with Racetrack tonight?"

Mark nodded " Yes I'm here with Maggie "

Crashdown looked at Lee " Trouble on your six Captain "

Lee was thinking frak how am I getting out of this.

Crash spoke again " Don't worry Apollo Starbucks moving to cover your six "

Lee thought that might just make it worse.

Mark saw Lee stiffen up " Something wrong Lee?"

Lee shook his head " No just getting ready "

Mark knew he had heard those exact words before, frak now he remembered.

Lee turned and was face to face with Dee " You gonna ask me to dance Lee?"

Lee shook his head and said " No and you need to leave now "

Dee stepped closer" What's wrong

She never got to finish because Kara grabbed her and spun her around to face her " I am telling you for the last time petty officer stay away from Lee or the next place you find yourself will be in sickbay or worse, now get the frak away from us " she finished by shoving her away from them

Kara reached past Lee and picked up her drink and headed back to the table.

Crashdown was laughing " I have seen Starbuck all kinds of pissed off, but that was a new level "

Lee shrugged " I don't think she likes to share "

Mark had watched the whole thing " I bet things on the Galactica must be pretty interesting "

" Especially when it involves Starbuck and Apollo " Crashdown couldn't help but add

Mark and Lee headed back to the table and the rest of the night was spent talking, drinking and dancing until President Roslin showed up and asked Kara to take a walk with her.

As they walked away Lee felt the hairs stand up on the back of his neck.

Racetrack asked " Captain do you know what that was about?"

Lee shook his head " No Racetrack, but I have a bad feeling about it "

Mark was concerned about Kara especially since Lee and Maggie were both worried.

[Break]****************************************************************************************************************

A,N.- The dance is not over yet. I stopped here because I could not fit everything into one chapter.

* * *

( Leave a comment )


	21. Chapter 21

A Different Beginning-Chapter 21

[BREAK]

This is an AU fic and it starts at the beginning. Also I am writing this solo so all mistakes are mine.

A.N.-While some events seem the same I will be changing some of what happens on Caprica, what happens with Boomer and what happens on the Galactica.

On a side note Adam is not Leobon, Lee met Adam at the restaurant and saw Leobon during the interrogation.

[BREAK]*************************************************************************************************************

CHAPTER 21

Kara walked beside President Roslin for a while before asking " Where are we going and why do you need to speak with me alone?"

Roslin glanced at her " We are heading to the garden to meet someone and then we will talk "

Kara didn't have much choice, because she felt whatever it was it must be important " Okay "

When they entered the area Roslin stopped and looked around until she seemed to see the person they were meeting. Kara followed her until they came to a bench that was enclosed enough to give them some privacy.

Kara saw Eloshi stand to greet them" Hello Madame President I see you convinced her to come along " She turned to Kara " I'm glad you came Captain Thrace "

Kara snorted " Like I had a choice in the matter, you both knew I could not tell the President no "

Roslin sat down in the center of the bench " Sit down the both of you we don't have a lot of time "

Roslin turned to look at Kara " I know that you believe in the gods Captain, but what do you know about Pythia?"

Kara thought for a moment trying not to say to much " I think I remember something about her being on Kobol and helping the thirteenth tribe find Earth"

Eloshi opened the book she had and pointed to a passage " It basically says that the Tomb of Athena is located somewhere on Kobol and with the Arrow of Apollo it will show us the way to Earth "

No one said anything as they absorbed the information until Kara had a thought " What does all of this have to do with me?"

Roslin stood up and paced back and forth a couple of times before she stopped and faced Kara. " Captain we have found Kobol, now we need you to take the cylon raider back to Caprica and bring the arrow back "

Kara jumped up " Are you two crazy I can't do that, plus Commander Adama already knows the way to Earth "

Roslin had to get control of the situation " Captain look at me " she waited until Kara faced her with her hands placed on her hips " Adama does not know the way to Earth, he never did, he just told people that to give them hope "

Kara kept her voice low " You are lying "

Eloshi stood up " I don't know anything about the commander, but I do believe in the scrolls of Pythia and that the thirteenth tribe found Earth" Eloshi looked at Roslin who nodded. " Captain do you believe we all have a part to play in this cycle?"

Eloshi waited until Kara answered " Yes I do "

Roslin spoke up again " It seems my part in this cycle is the dying leader "

Kara didn't know what to do, she believed in Adama, but she also believed in the gods, and she knew Roslin would not lie about dying, so she looked at Roslin " How long do I have before I have to decide?"

Roslin let out the breath she had been holding " You are due to take the raider on a flight test tomorrow morning, so I guess you have until then, but remember, this will be our only chance to get the arrow Captain "

Kara nodded " I will let you know before my test run, now I need to get back to Lee " Kara stopped and turned around " I hope you have a way of getting the coordinates, because without them I can't jump back to Caprica "

Before Kara turned to leave again Roslin spoke once more "I already have the coordinates and you cannot tell anyone about this Captain, understood, and only the three of us plus Cottle know about my cancer and I would like to keep it that way "

Kara nodded and went back to the dance.

[BREAK]**************************************************************************************************************

Maggie saw Apollo never taking his eyes off the door Roslin and Starbuck had left through. She kept glancing at him as her and Mark danced, when the song ended she pulled Mark to a stop " I am going to ask Apollo to dance he needs a distraction "

Mark led her off the dance floor " I agree, but let me try something "

Maggie nodded okay.

When they reached the table Mark flopped down in his chair " Lee would you please dance with Maggie I am in desperate need of a break?"

Lee turned from the doorway and saw how tired Mark was " Sure, Maggie would you like to dance or wait around until Mark can catch his breath?"

She reached and grabbed Apollo's arm " I can't wait that long, come on Captain"

When they left Mark took up watching the door. He was worried about Kara also. After about a minute later she came through the door and stopped for a second trying to get herself under control. At least that is what it looked like to Mark.

She came over and sat down grabbing her drink and downing it quickly then reached for Lee's and did the same thing.

Mark wasn't sure she knew he was there " Are you okay Kara?"

She jerked and met his eyes before looking away " I'm okay, the President just wanted to talk about what happened today with the two men we captured "

Somehow he knew she was lying " Would you like to dance, Lee and Maggie are on the dance floor now?"

Kara knew she needed to act natural " I thought you would never ask "

As they were dancing Mark intentionally led them closer to Lee, as soon as Lee saw her he stopped " Lee do you mind if we switch?"

Lee didn't hesitate he immediately reached for Kara and then the song ended, turning into a slow one, so he pulled her closer and she laid her head on his shoulder. Neither spoke as they held each other close and let the song surround them. Lee knew he was falling in love with Kara, he knew because he had never felt this way with any other woman. After it ended he pulled back and placed a kiss on her cheek and led her back to the table.

After they sat down Lee had to ask " What did Roslin want "

Kara shrugged " She asked me about the two men who were killed and did I have any idea who had killed them "

Lee shook his head " I already briefed her on all that "

Kara shrugged " I guess she wanted to know what I thought about it and somehow we ended up talking about the tomb of Athena of all things "

Lee looked doubtful " Why ask you?"

Kara laughed " For some reason she thinks since I believe in the gods then I must know everything about them " Kara chuckled again " Nobody knows everything, you would think she would know that "

Lee reached for his glass " This drink was almost full when I left it "

Kara simply said " Talking to Roslin made me thirsty sorry, I'll go get us another one "

Just as she stood up Mark and Maggie were headed there way with four fresh drinks. Mark sat them down " I kinda figured we would need a refill"

Kara sat back sipping her drink thinking about everything Eloshi and Roslin had told her. They had valid points, but she couldn't believe Adama had lied to them. She looked up and saw him headed their way then he stopped before her " Will you dance with me Kara?"

Kara figured this might be her only chance to find out. " Yes sir " She let him help her up and she glanced over at Lee and saw him smiling.

Adama led them onto the dance floor " You really do look beautiful tonight Kara"

Kara blushed " Thank you sir "

After they danced for a minute Kara asked " Sir, how long will it take us to reach Earth?"

Adama stumbled " I'm not sure Kara "

Kara asked another " Can you guess how long it will take us?"

Adama stopped and looked at her " Starbuck you know I don't like to guess "

Kara knew then that Roslin was right he had no idea where Earth was. When the dance ended he led her back to the table and left quickly.

Lee could tell things were still tense between them " So how did it go?"

Kara looked at him and rolled her eyes " It was just a dance Lee we didn't talk about anything personal " Kara hated keeping Lee in the dark about this, but she knew he would never let her go.

Lee scooted his chair close to Kara and put his arm around her shoulders and she laid her head against him " Kara you are so far beyond beautiful I can't find the right words to describe you " that made her smile

As they sat that way quietly someone stopped in front of them and took a picture " If you want a copy just let me know I run a photo shop here on Cloud Nine at least until we run out of supplies "

A slow song started and Lee asked Kara to dance with him one more time, she took his hand as they walked back onto the dance floor. Kara let Lee pull her up close and for a while she forgot about Roslin.

Kara decided she wanted to tease Lee a little bit so she put her lips next to his ear and whispered " When I got my things together for the dance I forgot to pack any panties so " and she let him fill in the rest

Lee pulled back eyes wide " Are you saying that the only thing you have on under this dress is your bare ass?"

Kara nodded " You can check if you don't believe me " then she winked

Lee pulled her flush with his body and keeping one hand between them he slowly ran his hand up the inside of her dress until he felt her curls then ran his hand around to her backside and felt her naked ass. " Oh my fraking gods Kara you are killing me, we have to leave now"

As they were walking back to the table Lee grabbed her arm to stop her and started rambling " Kara I wasn't sure what to do since you wanted to take things slowly, but I booked us a room just in case "

Kara was fairly certain she was leaving in the morning and might not make it back and she needed this one night with Lee if she didn't make it back " I think we should give ourselves a free pass tonight " then she kissed him to seal the deal.

They both walked up to Maggie and Mark grinning like fools. Lee spoke first "Maggie do you think you can find another ride back tonight, Kara and I are going to hang around for a while?"

Racetrack wasn't a fool " Sure Apollo " then she looked at Kara " Starbuck is it safe to assume whoever had today picked wins the pool?"

Starbuck winked at her and dragged Lee along with her to the hotel laughing " What was she talking about Kara?"

Kara stopped and pushed him against the wall and kissed him hoping he would forget what Racetrack said.

[BREAK]**************************************************************************************************************

Mark looked at Maggie who was grinning " What does the pool mean?"

Maggie laughed " The pilots and a few other people on the Galactica have been betting on which day Starbuck and Apollo would finally frak "

He grinned " Let me guess, you picked today " Maggie nodded smiling " How many other bets are going on?"

Maggie shrugged " A few, but most of them are about Starbuck and Apollo "

Mark finished his drink and sat it down " When are you going to let them know you won?"

Maggie looked around and saw Crashdown, Kat and Duck looking at her. " Some of them already know " she said and motioned toward the three pilots.

Maggie saw him looking at the pilots and chuckled " After tonight we will probably have some bets placed on us "

When Mark looked back at her he was blushing.

Maggie was getting ready to ask him to dance when she saw the pilots heading to their table.

Crashdown spoke up first " How did you know it would be today?"

Kat spoke up then " You can't be sure, knowing those two they could end up fighting instead "

Duck chimed in " With that dress she had on they will definitely be fraking "

Maggie chose to ignore them " Mark this is some of our pilots Kat, Duck and Crashdown, guys this is Mark "

Mark didn't know what to say " Hey guys, I actually met Crashdown earlier, do Kara and Lee know that you place bets on them?"

Crashdown answered " Starbuck knows about a couple of them, but Apollo doesn't have a clue "

Kat sat down " So Racetrack how did you end up with such a good looking date?"

Duck took the other chair " So Mark what kind of work do you do?"

Mark had finally got the chance to have Maggie alone until the pilots showed up, but he couldn't be rude so he answered " I own a restaurant on this ship"

Crashdown grabbed an empty chair and pulled it over to their table.

Maggie leaned over and whispered to Mark " They just want to talk to someone new, most of us never get a chance to mingle with the civilians"

Mark grabbed her hand and squeezed it " It's okay I understand "

Mark looked at all of them " Do you guys bet about anything besides Lee and Kara?"

They seemed to think about it, then Kat answered with a wink " Not really, but now we get to bet on you two " she said laughing

Over the next hour they talked and drank asking each other questions, well they questioned Mark mostly.

[BREAK]**************************************************************************************************************

After pulling back from the kiss Kara took one look at Lee's dazed face and knew he had forgotten. " Where is the room Lee?"

Lee couldn't believe that Kara had agreed to his idea so easily, but he wasn't going to over think it. He just hoped he didn't do or say something stupid to frak it up.

Kara knew Lee would be mad when she jumped away tomorrow, but she hoped he would understood what this night meant to her. She hoped he would not think she was selfish for agreeing to spending the night with him. Kara knew she was falling more in love with him everyday and she needed to know what it felt like to make love with him before she left.

When they reached the room Lee turned Kara so she was facing him " Are you sure Kara?"

Kara brushed her lips against his " I have never been more sure about anything in my life Lee "

Lee opened the door and let her step in first with him right behind her. He turned and locked the door then reached and turned the lights on to a dim setting. Lee leaned his back against the wall as he watched her walking around the room inspecting it before she turned and looked at him.

Lee pushed off the wall and walked over to the small counter top where he had a bottle of champagne chilling with his back still to her he asked "Would you like a glass Kara?"

Kara had walked up behind him and laid her head on his back and wrapped her arms around his waist " Yes "

Lee popped the cork and poured two glasses and left them on the counter as he turned around in her arms. He reached up with both hands and held her face as he slowly started kissing her.

Kara soaked it all up, she wanted to remember everything about tonight. She slowly pulled back and reached behind him to grab a glass of champagne " We shouldn't let this go to waste "

Lee turned and picked his up " Here's to tonight and the most beautiful woman I have ever seen " he clinked his glass to hers.

Kara blushed and they both took a sip. Kara then walked over and sat on the bed waiting for him to follow.

After he sat down Kara looked at him " What's wrong Lee?"

Lee shrugged " I guess I am afraid of fraking this up "

Kara knew she would have to take the lead, so she handed him her glass and got up then straddled his lap wrapping her legs behind him. Kara reached and took both glasses and leaned over and placed them on the night stand. Then she slowly started kissing him deepening the kiss more each second.

As they were kissing Lee reached behind him and slipped off her shoes and reached around and unzipped her dress. " Stand up Kara "

Kara knew what he wanted so she stood, Lee slowly stood up and pushed the straps off her shoulders and let the dress fall down to her waist. He reached up to feel her breasts, but she held his hand back " I think you need to lose some clothes yourself Lee "

While Lee stood there staring at her breasts she reached up and removed his sash, then his jacket and started unbuttoning his shirt until his top half was as bare as she was.

Lee pulled her close until their bare chests met and he leaned down to nibble and suck on her neck before heading back to her mouth.

Kara couldn't think she could only feel, so she had no idea that Lee had slipped her dress off until it fell to the floor around her feet. Lee sat back on the bed and looked her over thoroughly, so much so that she was blushing. Kara being Kara had to break the spell " Like what you see Captain?"

Lee blinked " You have no idea " then he reached up and pulled her onto the bed making sure she landed on her back. He stood up and after taking his pants off climbed on top of her making sure to keep his weight off of her. He leaned down and started kissing her everywhere except on her lips.

Kara reached down and snapped his boxers " You need to take those off Lee, it's only fair since I seem to be completely naked "

Lee didn't want to move from this position so he whispered in her ear after nibbling it " You take them off Kara, I'm kinda busy at the moment "

Kara laughed before he went back to kissing her and reaching up to hold a breast in one hand as he started drawing slow circles around it. Kara used her feet to push his boxers down after her hands couldn't reach them any more.

After that their kisses became more intense and they both let their hands roam over each other. They had both thought it might be awkward being their first time together. Instead it was the opposite they made love like they flew, almost as one. Kara made sure they made love several more times. The only bad thing was now she knew she couldn't live without him, she had no idea Lee was having the same thoughts.

Kara stayed snuggled up to Lee until she was sure he was asleep and she got up and found some stationary that was in the room. Kara sat down and wrote Lee a letter trying to explain her actions. After sealing the letter she made sure Lee was sleeping deeply and she slipped her dress back on and slipped out the door.

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

Kara went to Mark's room hoping he was alone as she knocked on the door lightly. After a few minutes he opened the door and Kara could tell she woke him up. " I'm sorry Mark, I need to grab my clothes "

He nodded and opened the door so she could come in " Where is Lee, Kara?"

" I left him sleeping I need you to do something for me " she said quietly " I wrote Lee a letter and when the time comes I need you to give it to him, please "

Mark grabbed her arm " What are you going to do Kara?"

Kara shook her head " I can't tell you, I will let Lee know you have something for him " Kara paused " Mark could you check on Lee for me in case something happens "

Mark practically begged her " Kara please don't do whatever it is you are planning on doing "

Kara looked him in the eyes " I don't have a choice Mark, so please promise to look out for Lee for me "

Mark knew he could not change her mind " I promise Kara "

Kara hugged him and then handed him the letter " Thank you Mark"

[BREAK]**************************************************************************************************************

She made it back to the room with Lee none the wiser. When she slipped into bed he reached and pulled her close to him. Kara let silent tears fall while praying to the gods that she would make it back safely to Lee.

Lee woke up and saw Kara laying half-way on top of him. He stayed still and he watched her for a while, hoping that she would not wake up regretting what they had done. Lee felt her starting to wake up and he waited for the moment that she would remember where she was and with whom.

Kara stretched not caring that she was half on top of Lee, she looked up and saw his bright blue eyes staring at her. " Hey Lee, I just had the best nights sleep, it must have been all that loving I got last night " she grinned " What about you ?"

Lee rolled his eyes " Like you even have to ask " Lee was surprised, he didn't expect Kara to wake up in such a good mood.

Kara groaned " I don't want to leave this room, but I have a flight test to get ready for "

Lee pulled her the rest of the way so that she was laying on top of him " We might have time for one more round "

Kara could fell him coming to life " You don't have to ask me twice " she rubbed back and forth against him until he was ready. This time she sat up and slid down on him until they were fully connected. Kara kept things slow wanting to leave Lee with a good memory of them. Let let her set the pace until it got to much for him, so he flipped her over until she was under him and he picked up the pace. It wasn't long before they both let themselves go.

After laying there in silence for a while Kara moved to get up " I really need to go Lee and so do you "

Lee watched her putting back on her security clothes " When did you get those ?"

Kara turned to look at him " I went to Mark's and picked them up while you were sleeping "

" Oh " Lee said as he finally got up to get dressed " I guess I will have to put my dress uniform back on "

After they finished getting dressed they went to the landing bay where Lee had left his raptor from the night before.

After they took off he said " I have a shift in the CIC, so Keeper will be going out with you "

Kara had been looking at all the ships in the fleet knowing she had to do this if they ever wanted to find a place to call home again. She almost missed what Lee had said " Okay "

Lee could not pin point it, but Kara had seemed a little withdrawn ever since she talked with Roslin. They had a great night and he didn't want to spoil it by giving her the third degree.

After they landed they both went to shower and Kara packed a small bag to take with her just in case. Kara slipped down to the raider and put her bag inside.

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

Lee and Kara were both called to the CIC. When Kara entered she came to attention and was surprised to find the president there. Moments later Lee came in and saw Roslin there also. Lee had that bad feeling again.

Adama finally told them " At ease " and went on to explain " The President wanted to be here for the test with the raider "

Kara looked over and saw Roslin watching her, so she gave her a small nod letting her know she was going through with it.

Adama was talking to her again " Captain Thrace I asked you if everything was ready?"

Kara nodded " It is sir "

Adama sighed " Then get down to the deck and lets get this over with, so we can jump to Kobol "

Kara walked past Lee and brushed her hand against his back.

Lee spoke fast " Excuse me Commander I'll be right back " and he took off out the door only to find Kara waiting for him.

Kara pulled him into an alcove and wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a gentle kiss " Thanks for last night Lee " she paused a second "I think I am falling in love with you Lee Adama "

Lee pulled back and looked at her to see if she was joking and he knew looking into her eyes she wasn't " Well that's a relief, because I am pretty sure I have already fallen in love with you "

Kara grinned and stepped away " I'll see you later "

Lee looked at her for a long time as if he needed to remember everything about her " Be careful out there Starbuck "

When Kara made it to the hangar deck Billy was standing there, she stood still waiting for him to come to her. He stuck out his hand " Good luck Captain Thrace " and she grabbed the piece of paper he had passed her during the handshake. Kara stuck it in her top pocket.

Keeper came by as she was standing there " Let's go Starbuck "

Kara looked around one last time before getting in the raider. She powered it up and left the Galactica to find Keeper waiting on her. " Hold up a minute Keeper I need to speak to the CIC "

Starbuck finished putting in the new jump coordinates that Billy had passed her " Galactica, Starbuck could you patch me through to the whole CIC?" Kara waited she knew it was an unusual request.

Finally Dee answered " Go ahead Starbuck "

Everyone in the CIC was tense except Roslin she had a pretty good idea what Starbuck was going to say.

" Commander I am sorry for what I am about to do, but you lied to us, so now I am taking the only chance we may have left to try and fix this " Kara paused " Lee I left something with Mark for you and I hope you can forgive me and I meant what I said "

Lee and Adama were both trying to talk to her, so she broke the connection and jumped away to Caprica with tears rolling down her face.

The CIC was so silent for a few seconds you could have heard a pin drop.

Adama spun around and faced Roslin " You did this, somehow you talked Starbuck into jumping back into a cylon infested Caprica " he was barely holding onto his rage. He should have known Roslin would pull something after he had turned down her request to use the raider.

Lee walked out of the CIC and caught the first raptor out heading to Cloud Nine. He had shut down and his only hope lay with whatever Kara had left with Mark.

No one on the deck even tried to question him about Starbuck after taking one look at his face. Not even the pilot who's raptor he jumped onto.

* * *

( Leave a comment )


	22. Chapter 22

A Different Beginning-Chapter 22

[ BREAK] As always all mistakes are mine.

This is mostly an A.U. story and will start becoming more A.U. as I move ahead.

[BREAK]*****************************************************************************************************************

Adama and Roslin were both trying to out talk the other and were getting louder.

Colonel Tigh knew he needed to try and stop them " Commander, President Roslin, might I suggest the two of you take this somewhere else besides the CIC "

Adama realised where they were and before walking out looked around for Lee " Colonel where is Captain Adama?"

Tigh looked around also " I have no idea "

The commander pulled himself together " Colonel have someone find Apollo and you have command until President Roslin and I finish our discussion elsewhere " and with that he walked out letting Roslin follow him.

Adama had shut the door to the first conference room they came to after entering. " What you did was wrong, not only did you send one of my best officers and pilot on a suicide mission you also had her steal a military asset " he knew he was practically screaming, but he didn't care.

Unlike Adama, Roslin calmly sat down at the table " I tried going through you commander, but you refused to listen to reason, so as the peoples leader I had no choice, but the one you left me with "

Adama finally took a seat knowing they had to work through this now that Roslin had left him no choice " That is because you based your reasons on religion and that was not enough to support you using the raider on a foolhardy mission "

Roslin scoffed " Just because you are not a believer doesn't mean that probably eighty percent of this fleet is "

Adama still upset, slapped the table " I could have you court marshaled and your presidential power stripped for what you pulled "

Roslin held her ground " You could, but then the fleet would split and fall apart " she paused " Look commander we are going to Kobol anyway, so let's just agree to disagree while we wait on Captain Thrace to return "

That made him even madder when he was reminded that it was Kara that had jumped away " What makes you think she will make it there let alone back?" he yelled

Roslin knew that was what he was most upset about " Captain Thrace believes in the Gods as I do, and from everything that has happened since this war begun she apparently has the gods watching out for her "

Adama gave her a strange look " Why do you think that?"

Roslin laughed " She could have been killed many times over, yet she always manages to survive, even you can't think she has that much luck "

Adama did not respond to that " I need to find my son before we jump to Kobol, we will finish this later " he got up and left the room.

[BREAK]**************************************************************************************************************

As soon as the raptor docked Lee jumped off heading straight to Mark's restaurant. Lee saw Mark as soon as he entered and walked up to him while he was talking to two people at a table.

Lee didn't care that he was interrupting " I need to talk to you now in private "

Mark could tell by the look on Lee's face that he was barely holding it together and he knew it somehow had to do with Kara and Adam had just got back " We can talk in my office "

Even though it was still early Mark pulled out a bottle and two glasses and poured them each a drink. Lee had not stopped pacing the whole time. " Sit down Lee and tell me what's wrong "

Lee grabbed his drink and downed it placing it back on the table, then sat down " Kara said she left something for me with you "

Mark knew something bad had happened " She did, but first can you tell me what's going on?"

Lee thought about it knowing it was a military matter, but after what Kara had done he needed to talk to someone " Did Kara tell you what she was going to do when she came to see you last night?"

Mark was even more worried now " No, what did Kara do Lee?"

" You can't repeat anything I say Mark" after Mark nodded Lee told him " Kara jumped away in the raider to Caprica "

Before Mark could ask why, Adam who had followed them after seeing how upset Lee Adama was, stood listening at the door that was left ajar and after hearing about Kara he burst into the office startling both Mark and Lee so bad they jumped up.

Adam got in Lee's face " Why in the gods name did you let her jump to Caprica?" he shouted

Then he turned his anger towards Mark " You better pray you knew nothing about this "

It was Lee's turn to shout " I didn't let her do anything she did this behind my back, and who the frak do you think you are when it comes to Kara?"

Adam sat down, he had to think " Is there any way that me or someone can go after her?"

Mark just remembered the implications if something happened to Kara and he sat down with his head in his hands " Oh my gods what are we going to do?"

Lee suddenly felt like he was in another reality " I am going to give the two of you about five seconds to tell me what is going on before I call the marines "

Mark spoke up " Adam you can trust Lee, you need to tell him "

Adam knew he couldn't tell Lee without first telling Kara about her destiny, so he opted for another truth " The only thing I will tell you right now is that Kara is my daughter, I can't say anything else until I speak to Kara first, she doesn't even know I'm alive "

Mark barely caught himself before saying something. That was something he didn't even know, but he understood that Adam needed to tell Kara first. Now he just needed to figure out what to say to Lee.

Lee bent over at the waist taking a deep breath, he didn't know what to ask first. Finally he stood up and looked at Mark " What all did you know?"

Mark swallowed " Only that Adam said that Kara needed to be protected and before you ask, yes that is why I became friends with her, but it is not why I remained friends with her " he paused " I liked having Kara as a friend and then I met you and felt the same way, so please believe me when I say that both of you mean a great deal to me "

Lee looked at Adam " It was you that had Mark warn Kara about the cylons wasn't it?" Adam nodded " So how did you know?"

Adam stood up " It is a long story and one that I will tell after we get Kara back, trust me it has no bearing on the safety of the fleet right now, we need to make sure Kara is safe before we do anything else "

Lee shook his no " Not until you show me proof that you are Kara's father "

Adam got up and left " I'll be right back "

Mark and Lee both sat waiting on him to return.

Adam came back in and laid down a couple of photos of him and a much younger Kara on the desk and then gave Lee her birth records " It is all I have managed to hang onto"

Adam sat down " Captain Adama I ask you to please keep this between the three of us, I am not sure who I can trust right now, and for reasons I will explain later Kara has a destiny that she is unaware of " Adam decided to tell Lee that Kara had a destiny, but he could not tell him about it.

Lee nodded his consent before adding " I will need to tell my dad though " Lee jerked when it finally hit him that Adam said Kara had a destiny "What is it with you and the cylons claiming Kara has a destiny?"

Adam shook his head, responding to Lee's first answer " No Captain, if you care as much about my daughter as I think you do you cannot tell your dad, besides there is nothing useful he could do with the information except unwittingly put her in more danger " Adam needed to ask Lee about the cylons " What did you mean when you said the cylons say Kara has a destiny?"

Lee felt it couldn't hurt to tell Kara's dad " Actually it is only one cylon, Leobon who claims that Kara's destiny is with him "

Adam sighed " The cylons have probably twisted the religions up so much that they aren't even sure what's what anymore "

Mark broke into the conservation " We need to do something, because I'd bet my last cubit that the cylon Leobon is on Caprica "

Lee grabbed the bottle and poured himself another drink " Then we need to figure out if we can come up with any ideas "

Adam asked " Why did she go to Caprica?"

Lee dropped his head " I'm not sure, all I heard before I left the CIC was that the president had sent her "

Mark opened his desk drawer and grabbed the letter and tossed it to Lee " This is what she left for you, maybe it will tell us something "

Lee opened the letter up skimming over the personal things until later and when he finished he folded it up and placed it in his coat. " She has gone to retrieve the Arrow of Apollo that is supposed to open the Tomb of Athena on Kobol in the hope that it will show us the way to Earth "

Adam cursed " The scrolls of Pythia may have been right thousands of years ago, but after that long a time has passed it may not be reliable anymore, but it couldn't hurt to check out the tomb "

Lee didn't believe in the gods, but it seems like Adam believes in them as much as Kara does " How do you know that?"

Adam sighed " I just do, this is what my whole life has been about and so has Kara's, even though she doesn't know to what extent "

Mark needed to ask Adam something personal, he just hoped it didn't offend Adam or Lee " Adam why did you leave Kara and her mom when she was just eight years old?"

Lee was shocked to hear that " I know what her mom did to her, but I didn't know anything about you Adam "

Adam looked first at Mark " I left to protect her " then he turned to Lee " What did her mom do to her?"

Lee sneered " Let's just say you leaving didn't protect her from her mom, no child should have to endure what Kara went through and she may not forgive you for that "

Before anything else could be said there was a knock on the door, Mark got up and answered it was Maggie. " Hey Maggie I'm busy right now could we talk later?"

Maggie gave him a small smile " That is not why I am here Mark, have you seen Apollo, the commander is ready to send out search parties?"

Lee got up and went to the door " I'm here Racetrack, what is going on?"

Maggie kept looking between Mark and Apollo not knowing if she should talk about military matters in front of Mark, but Apollo did not seem like it mattered " We are jumping to Kobol and the commander needs patrols on CAP and raptors on the surface "

Lee looked at Mark " Could you walk with Racetrack down to the docking bay I need a minute?"

Mark nodded " Sure, come on Maggie I wanted a chance to see you today anyway "

Lee shut the door and faced Adam again " I will try to get as much information as I can before I can get back to you and please call me Lee "

Adam stuck out his hand " Everyone knows me as Adam even Mark so let's stick to that, but my real name is Daniel as you probably saw on her birth certificate, keep that to yourself "

Lee turned to leave " Lee please let me know if you here anything about Kara and let me be the one to tell her I am alive "

Before Lee pull the door shut he said " I will Adam "

As Lee walked to the docking bay he tried to process all he had found out in the last hour.

After Racetrack boarded the raptor Mark put a hand on Lee's shoulder to stop him " If you need anything, even if it's just to talk I'll be here "

Lee nodded before he boarded " Thanks Mark "

{BREAK]*************************************************************************************************************

Maggie stayed silent on the way back to the Galactica.

As soon as they were cleared Lee headed to the CIC to see the commander, he even saluted " Reporting as ordered sir "

Lee knew if him and Adam had any chance of going after Kara he needed to stay on his fathers good side.

" At ease Captain " Adama looked at Lee a second " Where did you go Captain?"

Lee knew that everyone in the CIC had heard Kara " I went to pick up a personal letter Kara left for me "

Adama held out his hand " Let me see it "

Lee shook his head no " I said it was personal, it had nothing to do with what she did "

Adama dropped his hand, he knew he couldn't push Lee on this " We are jumping to Kobol I need two raptors to land and check it out " Adama paused " You had no idea she was going to do this?"

Lee sighed " No, she knew I would have stopped her "Lee had to ask " Is there any way we can go after her?"

Adama dropped his head " Not unless we had another raider, which we don't " Adama looked up " Get your teams ready we are jumping in ten minutes, dismissed "

Lee walked out of the CIC to the hangar deck to prepare the teams, he would stay and run CAP patrol.

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

Lee picked up his roster sheet for the day and saw that Crashdown and Pike were off shift today. He knew they were viper pilots now, but he needed them on Raptor detail.

Lee had the chief call to get them down to the deck while he found out who else would be going down. He saw Baltar and a couple of people with knowledge about what was edible, including Tryol and Cally going down to the surface.

Lee put Cally and Galen on the raptor with Crashdown and Baltar and the other two with Pike.

He waited until the jump was over before making sure everyone was accounted for and waited until the raptors lifted off before joining CAP.

Lee finished his three hour CAP patrol and was ordered to life station after landing ' What now' he thought.

As soon as he entered Cottle took him into his office " It is about Boomer Captain, she has been shot in the face and before you ask she said it was an accident that happened while she was cleaning her gun "

Lee knew the Doc thought differently " You don't believe her do you?"

Cottle shook his head " No, but I also can't prove it "

Lee got up and left to go see her " How are you Boomer?"

" I'm fine sir, it was just an accident " she told him " Is what they are saying about Starbuck true?"

Lee sat down, this had been a bad day so far, he just hoped it was over soon " Yes it's true " he said sadly

Boomer didn't know what to say except " Maybe she will get lucky and find Helo and together they can find a way back "

Lee looked up at her then " I didn't think about that " he felt a little bit more hopeful now.

Boomer decided she could offer something else " If you need me for anything Apollo just ask, Starbuck is one of my few friends "

Lee stood up " Thanks Boomer and get better soon we need you out there "

She said " Yes Sir " as he left

[BREAK]**************************************************************************************************************

Boomer had a lot of time to think while she has been in life station.

She knew she kept losing track of time and would wake up in strange places not remembering what she had done. Even though Baltar had said she was not a cylon she did not believe him, that was why she tried to kill herself.

Boomer now truly believed she was a cylon and it made her angry at the cylons for making her think she had a family and friends only to find out that she didn't.

The one thing she was sure of was that she would make the cylons pay for what they took from her whether it was real or not because to her it was.

The only thing she could do now was wait for the right opportunity to come along.

[BREAK]**************************************************************************************************************

Lee stopped by the mess to pick up a bite to eat before heading to his office to read Kara's letter.

After he locked the hatch he sat down at his desk and took it out and opened it up.

LEE

I honestly don't think there is anything I can say that will make this any easier.

After I spoke to Roslin and Eloshi I wasn't sure about taking the raider, but after asking your dad a couple of questions I knew that he did not know the way to Earth.

I know you are not a believer of the gods, but you know I am. When Roslin and Eloshi told me about the Tomb of Athena on Kobol and that we needed the Arrow of Apollo to open it so we could find a way to Earth, I knew that I had the best chance of retrieving it since I have flown the raider.

I want you to know how much I needed to be with you last night. Not only because I was ready, but also because I needed to draw strength from you before I left for Caprica.

I promise you Lee that I will do everything in my power to return to you. Watch your six while I am gone.

KARA

Lee folded the letter back up in put it in the pocket closet to his heart vowing to try and help her in any way that he could.

After taking a few bites of food he laid down replaying holding Kara in his arms after they made love.

Lee had no idea how long he had slept, but jumped up when he heard the klaxons going off. He took off running to the CIC hoping it was Kara, but knowing she wouldn't be back so soon.

[BREAK]**************************************************************************************************************

Lee came to a halt when he entered the CIC trying to find out what was happening.

Adama looked up and saw Lee standing there " A base star has jumped in between us and our teams on the ground "

Lee looked up at dradis " Why aren't they firing on us?"

Colonel Tigh spoke up " We don't have a fraking clue, but we got a distress call from Crashdown saying they were taking fire from something on the surface "

Adama slammed his hand down on the console " If we had the raider we could just fly a nuke up their ass "

Gaeta spoke up " We still have a cylon transponder that could be put in a raptor "

Lee didn't seem to sure that would work " First we would need a pilot which could very well turn into a suicide mission and then we would have to hope the cylons thought the raptor had been captured "

Adama cleared his throat " It is our only option, Gaeta get to work on the raptor and Captain I need you to get Boomer ready to fly this mission "

Lee looked at his dad " Are you sure about Boomer?"

Adama snorted " Since she has already tried to kill herself I would say she is the perfect choice for it "

Lee turned and left headed to life station.

[BREAK]**************************************************************************************************************

When Lee arrived in life station Boomer was already sitting up " What has happened Apollo?"

Lee sighed " A base star has penned our people on the planet down, they are taking fire and we can't help them until we blow up the base star "

Boomer stood up " I suppose this is where I come in " she said as she grabbed her uniform and went behind a curtain to get dressed.

When she came out Lee was sitting in the chair by the bed. " Captain have you heard anything about Starbuck?"

Lee just shook his head no.

Boomer sat on the edge of the bed not knowing how to explain what she believed about herself to him. " Apollo how willing are you to help save Starbuck and get her home?"

Lee looked at Boomer for a minute before saying anything " I am willing to do what ever it takes "

Boomer stood up " If you can trust me Apollo, I can help Starbuck "

Lee grabbed her arm before she left the room " What are you talking about Boomer?"

Boomer looked him dead in the eye " I need you to be my co-pilot and as soon as we take off I will explain it all to you, but you are going to have to trust me or this will all be for nothing "

Somehow Lee knew that there were things she was not saying, but for Kara's sake he would trust her for now. " Okay we will do it your way, but there is no way the commander is going to let me on that raptor so I will have to sneak on "

On their way to the deck she spoke again " I am doing this for Galen and the rest of the colonials on the planet also "

When they made it to the flight deck Gaeta had installed the cylon transponder and the deck crew had placed the missile.

Lee went to the phone to let CIC know Boomer was ready and while he was doing that Boomer made sure the missile would jam making them have to land on the base star.

After Lee boarded unnoticed Boomer entered and closed the hatch before leaving the Galactica.

[BREAK]**************************************************************************************************************

Lee moved to sit in the co-pilots chair waiting until they left the Galactica " Now explain what you are going to do Boomer"

Boomer set course before turning to face Apollo " I have a lot to say, so please don't freak out or start asking questions until I have finished explaining "

Lee nodded.

Boomer was nervous " I tried to kill myself because I thought I was a cylon even though Baltar said I wasn't " she paused " Now I know I am and I am so mad at the cylons for making me believe I had a family and friends, so I have decided to pay them back any way that I can " here she paused again " I am going to land on the base star and set the missile off manually, killing myself along with the base star so that I can down load and as soon as I can I will find Starbuck and Helo and help them get back home "

Instead of freaking out that he was alone with a cylon, Lee was more shocked that she thought she was a cylon " Are you sure you are a cylon Boomer?"

Boomer nodded " Yes I am "

Lee sat there speechless.

They were nearing the base star " When we land I will exit to work on the missile that I jammed, while you sit in the ECO chair I want you to carefully look out inside the base star, you should see copies of me confirming what I have said " she spoke again before existing " Keep the raptor powered up, I will be setting a twenty second delay. Tell the commander I owed him one and tell Galen I am sorry and that I love him. Now do you have any idea where I should look for Starbuck?"

Lee was very nervous, things seemed to be happening to fast, but he had seen Boomer copies already " The Delphi museum or Leobon might have her "

After she dislodged the missile Boomer walked back to the hatch " Now I need you to hit me hard enough to knock me back from the raptor, it will help the cylons buy my story, you see my orders were to kill Commander Adama, but I couldn't do it, now hurry Apollo "

" I don't know what to say Boomer except I am sorry and please help Kara " Apollo immediately hit her and closed the ramp leaving the base star and jumping just as it blew up.

[BREAK]**************************************************************************************************************

When the raptor popped up on dradis the commander took over " Boomer this is Galactica actual report"

The voice Adama heard shocked him " Galactica, Apollo mission was a success, but we lost Boomer "

Adama got on the line again " Captain meet me in my office for debrief as soon as you land "

After Lee landed the raptor and got out several people were clapping and congratulating him until they noticed Boomer wasn't with him.

Racetrack stepped forward " Where is Boomer sir?"

Lee knew he couldn't tell them yet " Boomer gave her life to complete the mission " It was true even though she was a cylon.

Lee felt like he was going to throw up he had to get out of there " I have a debrief to get to, Racetrack prepare an SAR for the people on the planet and I will call you as soon as the commander says it is a go "

Lee left headed to the commanders office. When he arrived the commander started ranting " Why in the frak were you on that raptor Captain?"

When Lee sat down instead of answering the commander knew something was wrong " What is wrong Lee?"

Lee looked up at him then " I will tell you everything, but you will have to fill the president in, I won't feel like explaining this again "

The commander knew he should make Lee wait until Roslin could be there, but he could tell that Lee looked like he was on the verge of being sick or passing out " Okay Lee, I'll make an exception this time "

So Adama listened while Lee told him everything, he was shocked that Boomer was a cylon and he knew what she was referring to when she said she owed him. After hearing that her orders were to kill him he felt like he now owed her. " Do you believe that she will help Starbuck?"

Lee simply nodded " I do, but I would not keep the whole fleet at Kobol, for all we know when she downloads they will have a way of scanning her memories and find out what really happened on the base star "

Adama stood up " Before you go, can you tell me why Boomer trusted you to help her Lee?"

Lee stopped at the hatch " She knows how much Kara means to me and knew that I would do anything I could to help her, plus cylon or not her and Starbuck have known each other for a while now " Lee paused before saying " Even though she is a cylon, I still saw her as Boomer, that's pretty fraked up isn't it?"

Adama stopped him once again trying to get his focus back on the mission " I take it you have already prepped a raptor for the planet "

Lee nodded " Yes, all I need is your permission, we are ready to go "

Adama sat back down " Go ahead Captain, we will wait here until your return and I will update the president "

Adama dismissed him and placed a call to Roslin.

[BREAK]**************************************************************************************************************

Lee headed to the hangar deck glad that he had things to keep him occupied, otherwise all he would think about would be Kara.

Racetrack was standing on the open hatch to her raptor waiting to hear from Apollo.

What she didn't expect was him to come walking towards her. " If your ready Racetrack let's go, our people need us now "

Lee entered the raptor and saw a nurse, Skulls and two marines then took the co-pilots seat, it was Racetrack's raptor after all.

Racetrack sat down and buckled up before asking " Are you sure you want to go Captain after every thing that has happened today?"

Lee looked at her " I need to keep busy " is all he said

Racetrack figured that made sense, but she was worried about what would happen to him when he had nothing to keep him busy anymore.

As soon as they jumped in above the planet Skulls the ECO saw their people penned down taking fire. " Captain Adama there seems to be some sort of an automatic device set up that is keeping our people from being able to move "

Lee got up and went to Skulls station and looked for himself, turning to Skulls he asked " Can you take it out?"

Skulls nodded " We have a missile I just don't know how safe our people will be, it will be a close call "

Lee strapped back in " Do it, our people will know to take cover "

Once all the shooting stopped Racetrack landed.

After getting out Lee saw that one of the raptors was useless, he looked up and saw Crashdown headed over to him.

Lee immediately asked " What's the damage Crash?"

Crash handed him a set of dog tags, " We lost Pike, Baltar, and one of the civilian's, sir "

Lee hated they had lost a pilot and with Baltar dead there would have to be another election. " All right people let's load up and get out of here "

After they were off the planet Lee leaned over next to Racetrack " Don't say anything about Boomer, let me tell the chief "

Racetrack nodded she was more than glad she did not have to tell the chief.

After landing and before leaving the raptor Lee told them " I want no discussions about anything even among yourselves until we debrief, understood and I want all of you to stop by life station?"

They all agreed, they were just glad to be back on the Galactica. Lee waited until everyone was out before he stepped out of the raptor.

Lee knew he could not put it off any longer " Chief Tryol I need to speak to you for a minute "

Chief turned around and headed back to Apollo " Do you need something Captain?"

Lee ran his hand through his hair, he really did not want to say this " As I'm sure you know the base star was blown up, but we lost a pilot doing it, I'm sorry chief it was Boomer "

Lee watched as the chief stood there trying to process it, so he kept talking " Boomer gave her life to save a lot of ours, she died doing her job "

That was all Lee was going to say about it, because sooner or later everybody would find out she was a cylon, but for right now he didn't think the chief could handle that to. " Boomer said to tell you that she loved you chief and that she was sorry "

Lee patted him on the back as he walked away leaving him to deal with her death. As he walked away he could here the chief crying softly.

[BREAK]**************************************************************************************************************

Lee was heading to his office when a call came over the coms for him to go to the conference rooms. Lee would be glad when this day ended because all he wanted to do was get sloppy drunk and hopefully pass out, so he wouldn't think about Kara.

When he entered the room Roslin and his dad had been waiting on him.

He half saluted and sat down on the couch heavily waiting for one of them to say something " What's going on?"

Roslin cleared her throat " Captain Adama the commander told me about the cylon and we have decided not to tell anyone else, only the three of us know and we are going to keep it that way "

Lee really didn't care what they wanted to do about it " Okay, with her dead I doubt very seriously that another one will pop up "

Roslin looked at him closely " You don't act like finding out Boomer was a cylon bothers you very much, why is that ?"

Lee didn't really know how to answer her " I have had time to come to terms about it and it's been a really long day "

Adama spoke up " I imagine he feels like I do, Boomer is going to find Kara and help her get back to the fleet and for that we are thankful, plus she went against her cylon orders and did not try and kill me " he said jokily

Roslin looked at both of them " And you two are willing to trust her on this, I don't understand "

Lee jumped up, he really needed a drink " What the frak else are we supposed to do, they are on Caprica and we are here, so yeah I am gonna trust her, especially since it involves Kara " Lee paused " Boomer is really pissed off that the cylons made her believe that she had a family and friends, she says she is going to make them pay for what they did to her and the ones I saw on the base star looked like her, but seemed different"

Adama had been thinking while Lee was talking " What if the ones on the base star don't have memories like Boomer, maybe they are kind of a blank slate?"

Lee thought about it " Maybe, that reminds me I told the chief about Boomer, but I didn't say anything about what she was "

Adama nodded " Good, now we need to figure out what ships or ship to have waiting at Kobol "

Lee who was still standing looked at them " I need to go, I'm sure the two of you can decide which ships to take to Kobol "

Adama looked at his son " Your dismissed Captain, I suggest you try to get some sleep "

[BREAK]**************************************************************************************************************

When Lee left his dad's office he went to the nearest wall phone " This is Captain Adama I need to place a secure call to Cloud Nine, have them page Mark Rivers "

Lee waited until Mark came to the phone " This is Mark is something wrong Lee?"

Lee shook his head even though Mark couldn't see him " I wanted to let you and Adam know that I have sent someone to Caprica to find Kara and get her back home " hopefully he thought to himself.

Mark sighed a sigh of relief " Thank the gods, I will let Adam know, are you okay Lee?"

Lee sighed " As well as I can be at this point, I will get in touch with you tomorrow, goodnight Mark "

Mark hoped he really was okay because Kara had asked him to help Lee " Goodnight Lee, try to get some sleep "

Lee hung up and stood still for a moment, and silently prayed that Kara's gods were watching over her.

[BREAK]

After Lee finished with his silent prayer he headed to the pilot's rec room hoping to have several drinks before attempting to try and sleep.

He looked around for a table with an opening and spotted one with Duck, Kat, Crash, Racetrack and Keeper and headed their way.

Lee pulled the chair out and sat down " I hope you guys don't mind me sitting here " they all shook their head no " Good because I intend on getting very drunk "

Keeper spoke first " I am sorry about Starbuck, Captain "

Lee picked up the drink Duck had placed in front of him " It is not your fault Keeper you couldn't have stopped her "

Lee picked up his drink and downed it then passed it back to Duck for a refill.

Kat asked what everyone wanted to know " Where did Starbuck go Captain?"

Lee looked around at each of them and knew they were worried about Kara " She went back to Caprica on an order issued by the president, but try and keep that to yourselves we don't need a lot of people gossiping about it "

Racetrack spoke up after looking at each of the pilots " We will keep it between us Apollo, but if you need anything let us know "

All of the pilots nodded their heads in agreement " Good, now let's get back to the card game and me getting drunk "

Crash dealt a new hand of cards and for the next hour they watched as their Captain got sloppy drunk.

Lee started waving his glass around " I suggest we start a new bet, and yes I know that you guys bet about stuff, just not what you bet about, so I say we bet on whether Starbuck makes it back to the fleet or not, what do you think Duck?"

They were all stunned that Apollo would want to bet about that and Duck had no idea how to respond so he decided it would be safer to bet positive " I bet 25 cubits she makes it back "

Kat spoke up " I know that Starbuck always finds a way to beat the odds, so I wager 50 cubits we will she her soon "

Keeper knew no one would bet against her not making it back, especially since the Captain needed all the hope he could get " I agree with Kat, if anybody can pull it off it will be Starbuck "

Crash added his two cents to the topic " After what she pulled off to save my life I know she will get the job done, so I bet 50 cubits also "

Racetrack had not said anything yet, she was meeting Mark tomorrow and she intended on talking to him about Apollo, she reached for the bottle Duck had and poured them all a shot " I am not going to bet because I know she will be back " she passed them all a shot glass " I propose a toast " she raised her glass to the center of the table " Here's to Starbuck "

The others raised their shots with Apollo being the last and then a chorus of " Here's to Starbuck " sounded around the table with the rest of the rec room doing so also when they heard the toast.

After thirty more minutes had passed Duck and Crash helped a very drunk Apollo make it to his bed and watched as he passed out before covering him up and getting into their racks for the night.

[BREAK]

A.N.-I needed to get rid of Gaius to make room for another Vice-President and no it will not be Lee.

A.N.- I am sorry that my chapters seem to take up a whole day, in the future I am going to try and not do that.

* * *

( Leave a comment )


	23. Chapter 23

A Different Beginning-Chapter 23

[BREAK]

This is mostly an A.U. story and will become more so farther into the story.

I am writing this solo so all mistakes are mine.

Kara and Lee met for the first time the day the cylons attacked the colonies.

[BREAK]****************************************************************************************************************

CHAPTER-23-A Different Beginning

[BREAK]

With a couple of stops between jumps Kara stopped the tears that were falling silently down her face and pulled herself together before her last jump to Caprica. Before she jumped Kara said a small prayer for the mission and for Lee to forgive her.

After Kara dropped out of space into the air above Caprica she drifted slowly, making sure the other raiders were not paying her any attention.

Kara soon found the Delphi Museum and landed the raider as close as possible. After her raider had come to a full stop she opened the hatch and slid out.

Kara carefully made her way inside and after looking inside a few rooms she made her way to the center of the museum where she found the arrow.

As she walked up to it she laughed because it was the only thing that had not been destroyed.

Kara looked around and not seeing anyone she broke the glass case with the butt of her gun and grabbed the arrow. Kara was beginning to worry, all of this had been too easy.

Kara felt someone behind her so she turned quickly aiming her gun hoping to have the advantage.

She had seen this model before on the Galactica, but only briefly. Kara begin shooting her as she moved in a circle around her, but the six kept dodging her bullets until her gun was empty. Kara threw the gun and the arrow against the far wall and lunged herself at the six landing a blow to her stomach, then the six threw her against the glass case like a rag doll.

The six model watched Starbuck as she laid there " Don't you want to know how I knew you would be here?"

Kara got up and hit the six on her nose hoping to break it " Not really " she said as her felt her fist connect with six's nose.

After that they began fighting for their lives especially Starbuck. During the fight she noticed the arrow was still against a far wall and Kara made a point of keeping up with it as she struggled with the cylon.

All of a sudden a very loud voice made them stop " Six what are you doing here, I told you I would bring Kara in?"

Six got in Leobon's face " This is not about your infatuation with her Leobon, orders were to bring her in dead or alive, I chose dead "

While they had been arguing Kara saw Helo hidden in small alcove watching them and contained her surprise. After looking back at the cylons to make sure they were still arguing she caught Helo's attention again and motioned with her eyes toward the arrow.

Helo nodded that he understood and slipped out quickly to grab the arrow and went back to his hiding spot.

He turned to Sharon " We have to help her "

Sharon nodded " Yes, and we will, but not right now "

Helo shook his head " Why not now?"

Sharon made Helo look at her " Leobon will not let anything happen to her yet, so that gives us time to come up with a plan and I suggest we start by following them and finding out where they will be keeping her "

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

After Kara was sure Helo had the arrow she jumped into the argument raising her voice " Hey, could you two shut the frak up and tell me why the cylons are so interested in me?"

Six turned to answer her forgetting that she had put her back to Leobon " We don't give a frak about you, Leobon is the only one obsessed with you and it seems the base star's hybrid is also interested in you for some reason that none of us understand even Leobon "

Kara glared at her with her hands on her hips " I am just a fraking human like the rest of what's left of humanity, so why am I so important? "

Six glared back at Starbuck " It doesn't matter Cavil gave the order to kill you or bring you in "

Kara watched as Leobon walked up behind the six " Kara is special and she is mine " then he snapped her neck breaking it.

Kara never moved or showed any kind of emotion, she just hoped Helo was still watching and would know what to do.

Leobon grabbed her arm " We need to go before someone shows up "

Kara went along with him until she could figure out a way to get away from him " Where are we going?"

Leobon looked over at her " Don't worry I have a safe place where they will never find us "

Kara looked behind her once more hoping Helo heard what Leobon had said.

[BREAK]**************************************************************************************************************

Sharon and Helo looked at each other when Leobon killed the six " Why would he do that?" asked Helo

Helo looked at Sharon " Can you hear what they are saying?"

Sharon sighed " This Leobon has decided to take Kara to a place only he knows about, not even the other two's know about it?"

Helo stood up and helped Sharon up " We need to follow them or we might never see Starbuck again "

Sharon nodded in agreement and set off following Leobon making sure they stayed far enough away that he would not notice them.

Every few miles Leobon would stop to let Starbuck rest, and even though her hands were tied in the back she tried to leave a trail that Helo could pick up on.

As Helo and Sharon rested when they did, he needed to ask Sharon something " When were you downloaded with Boomer's memories?"

Sharon knew at some point he would ask her this " They had to leave Boomer in place on the Galactica, so when we were at Ragnar they knocked her out and downloaded her memories into me and then gave her a drug so she would not remember what happened, they still needed her as a sleeper "

Sharon paused a minute " They needed to choose an eight to give them Boomers memories so you could be remembered, they knew you were on Caprica " She paused " I am glad it was me because the cylons made a mistake, when they gave me her memories they also gave me her insight into the humans and her love for a human, Galen Tryol "

Helo looked at her closely " Does that mean you love Galen also?"

Sharon reached for his hand " No, but because of how she felt about the humans and Galen it made me fall in love with you "

Leobon was moving again so they got up and followed.

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

Kara had no idea where he was taking her and was surprised when he turned towards a path in the woods. Kara had to think quickly so she pretended to stumble on the road and made sure to scuff her boots across the dirt road as Leobon helped her up.

They then walked further in until a small house came into view.

Kara turned to head to the house until Leobon stopped her " We are not staying in the house, around back there is an underground shelter "

She had no choice but to follow and listened as Leobon began speaking again " I have made it as comfortable as possible for you "

Kara had to ask " Why can't we stay in the house?"

Leobon turned to look at her " The centurion's can't find you here, there will be no heat signature showing up underground "

As he showed her around he explained " I have to go and pick up supplies tomorrow, I was not expecting to have you this soon "

Kara still had not relaxed " So I guess I am stuck with you until tomorrow "

Leobon untied her hands and moved them to the front retying them and then he hugged her tightly " Make yourself comfortable Kara I don't plan on bothering you tonight "

Kara finally moved to the sofa ignoring the bed in the corner. Then she prayed Helo was able to find her trail.

As Kara looked around the room she saw a bed, a stove, a few cabinets and the sofa she was sitting on. Then Leobon had stepped out of a door that was closet to the stove " It is a small bathroom with no windows "

Kara laid her head down and fell into a fitful sleep thinking about Lee and wishing he was with her.

[BREAK]**************************************************************************************************************

Several hours earlier Boomer had woken up in some sort of gooey tub. As she slowly looked around there was a six and eight that looked just like her. Boomer took several minutes to take in the situation, even remembering her time as a cylon. To Boomer that didn't matter she had made a promise to Apollo and she intended on keeping it, but first she needed to gain the cylons trust.

As she tried to get out of the tub the six and eight had to help her. Six saw her shaking and grabbed a white robe to put on her.

After calming down " Where are we?"

The eight led her to a sofa " We are above Caprica at least for right now "

Boomer was still acting confused " So who got my memories?"

Six moved to sit in the chair " When we were at Ragnar an eight received them and she picked up your memories from that point on until now"

Frak Boomer thought " Where is she?"

Six sneered " We sent her out to gain the pilot Helo's trust to see if she could get pregnant " Six sneered again " She is running from us she seems to have fallen in love with Helo and is trying to keep her baby from us "

Boomer silently let out a sigh of relief knowing this eight would not turn her in " I need to go to the surface, I might be able to change her mind "

The eight looked at six " Do you think we should tell Cavil about this?"

Six shook her head " No, he is to wrapped up in trying to find Leobon and Starbuck, there is no need to bother him with this "

Boomer turned to eight " Can you get me some clothes ?"

As eight left the room Boomer turned to six " Why is Starbuck of so much interest?"

Six sighed " To us she is not, but Leobon claims the hybrid has spoken of Kara Thrace many times and he believes she knows the way to earth"

Eight came back in with clothes for her. They both left as Boomer got dressed and started looking around the room, she saw nothing useful here so she wandered around the Base Star. When she went into the central command center she saw the Hybrid and walked over and knelt down beside her.

The hybrid grabbed her arm " You are the one they call Boomer, you must help Kara Thrace her destiny does not involve the cylons " Then she went back to speaking in riddles.

Boomer wondered if she could communicate with Helo's eight?"

[BREAK]**************************************************************************************************************

Helo and Sharon made themselves comfortable just inside the tree line so they could keep watch on the underground shelter. They took turns sleeping knowing that Leobon would wait until morning to leave.

Sharon was confused because this Leobon had made himself an enemy of the other cylons by taking Starbuck for himself.

Sharon had cut off most of her cylon network only leaving on the communication part. She could hear static, but not much more. She woke up Helo explaining what was happening and letting him know she needed to get to a clearing.

As she walked closer to an opening she heard it again this time being able to make it out " Are you Helo's eight?"

Sharon stood still " Yes, but I go by Sharon now " Sharon hoped this wasn't a trap

She could hear sigh of relief " I am Boomer from the Galactica, I blew up the base star surrounding Kobol and I promised Apollo I would get Starbuck back to him "

Sharon needed to know more " I chose to go with Helo back to the Galactica, so why are you going against the cylons?"

Boomer answered harshly " They made me believe I had a family and friends and then they took that from me, it doesn't matter if it was real or not they used me and I intend to see them pay for it "

Sharon finally had some hope " Will you help us get back to the Galactica?"

Boomer answered quickly she heard someone coming " Yes, but only after I have seen Starbuck "

Sharon spoke quickly " Leobon has her, but we are watching where he has them staying "

Boomer spoke rapidly " Hold position, I have to cut communication now "

[BREAK]*****************************************************************************************************************

The Six and the eight returned " We will take you to the surface, maybe Leobon will listen to you since you know Starbuck "

Eight spoke up " If we can find him "

Boomer had an idea " We need to split up drop me in the woods by the museum, and eight can see if she can pick up a trail leading into the city while you keep making passes "

As six got ready to drop them off she warned them " Remember the Leobon that has Starbuck will kill you as soon as he sees you, hopefully you will find him Boomer and get him to talk "

After the drop was made Boomer and the eight split up.

Boomer immediately called Sharon " I am just outside of the museum, which way should I head?"

Sharon wanted to see her first " Take the dirt road behind the museum for about three miles, I will be waiting for you, hurry up "

Boomer made sure no one was watching her before she took off trotting the three miles before stopping and waiting.

Sharon stepped out and walked over to face Boomer " I hope you are telling the truth and not setting us up "

Boomer reached her hand out " You must have blocked any incoming communications and downloads, here take my hand and you will see what I am saying is true "

Sharon took her hand and saw most of what had happened on the Galactica and knew Boomer was telling the truth.

Sharon raised her eyes and met Boomers " You tried to kill yourself?" Boomer nodded " So Apollo knows the truth about our model and he trusted you?"

Boomer sighed " He didn't have much choice and I think he knew how much it bothered me to find out I was a cylon "

Athena could understand that better than anyone "Come on we need to get back to Helo."

Boomer followed her " This is going to be weird seeing Helo again "

They soon reached Helo and squatted down on each side of him startling him " Frak me " He looked back and forth and knew he could tell the difference " Long time no see Boomer "

Boomer got defensive " Hey it was your idea to give up your seat, by the way the genius is dead "

Helo ran a hand down his face " There is so much I want to know about the fleet, but our priority is Starbuck or the old man will kill me "

Boomer laughed " He will have to get in line behind Apollo so this is one mission we cannot fail "

Helo looked stunned " Are you saying Starbuck and Apollo are together now?"

Boomer smiled " From what I heard they walked into the colonial dance holding hands "

Sharon held up her hand " I think someone is coming out "

As they watched Leobon climb out and shut the shelter doors then chained them so Starbuck couldn't get out. After that he took a route different then the one they had came in on.

After a while they walked over to the doors the only way in was to break them,while Helo was looking around Sharon and Boomer each grabbed a door and pulled them open breaking the chains.

Helo rolled his eyes and dropped the stick " I had better go in first, I don't think she can handle seeing two of you at the same time. "

They nodded and backed off.

Sharon looked at Boomer " You are not coming back to the fleet with us are you?"

Boomer sadly shook her head " No, I am going to make the cylons believe I am with them now, and if something comes up about the fleet I will let you know, besides I don't think Galen could love me knowing I am a cylon "

There was nothing Sharon could say to make her feel better " I know they will put me in the brig, but it is better than letting the cylons run experiments on her "

They sat silently after that each watching out for Leobon.

Boomer spoke once more " You need to know that I went to see the hybrid and she grabbed my arm and told me we must help Kara Thrace because her destiny does not involve the cylons "

Sharon's eyes got wide " What do you think that means and do you think it is possible that their gods do exist?"

Boomer shook her head " I don't know, I really don't believe in very much right now " Boomer paused " Sharon do you think there is a god out there just for robots?"

Sharon looked stunned she had never really thought about it, but before she could respond they heard Helo and Starbuck coming up from the cellar.

[BREAK]****************************************************************************************************************

Helo had filled Kara in about all he knew " Frak Boomer I can't believe you are a cylon, but I sure am glad that you are on our side "

Then she looked at Sharon " Looks like you got yourself a playmate Sharon "

Boomer stepped forward just a bit " Starbuck when we get a minute I need to tell you some things especially about Apollo "

Kara started backing up " No, no, you are not going to tell me something is wrong with him, please Boomer " Kara was shaking

Boomer got close enough to place her hand on her shoulder " There was nothing wrong with him when I left, he just wanted me to relay some personal things, that's all "

Kara settled down " We need to get as far away from this place right now, Leobon will be back soon "

They all settled in for a fast walk, Boomer spoke again " After what he pulled I doubt he will get very much back up "

Kara agreed " So what's our plan Boomer?"

Boomer chuckled " I was kind of hoping you had one, I just got here "

Helo spoke up " Before everything happened Sharon and I were on our way to the Delphi Base, hoping to find a ride off of here"

Kara spoke up " Let's head that way then " she paused and looked over at Boomer " So tell me what happened that you ended up here "

Boomer told her everything from trying to kill herself and how she ended up on the base star. " If Apollo had not helped I would have never pulled it off by myself "

Kara took all that in " Why did Lee help you?"

Boomer looked at her " He said he would do anything to help get you home, he loves you Starbuck "

Kara looked over at her " Your not going back with us are you?"

Boomer looked ahead of her as she answered " I can be more help here with Sharon's help, plus I know Galen could never love me now, but I still love him and I will do whatever it takes to protect the Galactica "

Boomer kept talking " I will try to get as close to Leobon as I can, because he will never stop trying to get you back,when I was on the base star I went to see the hybrid she told me we needed to save you because your destiny does not include the cylons "

Starbuck looked at her surprised " Then why does Leobon insist it does?"

Boomer shrugged her shoulders " I am only guessing, but Leobon spent a lot of time with the hybrid and I guess he believed what he wanted to believe "

Helo turned to shout " We are here" and all hell broke lose as bullets started firing.

Boomer was next to Kara " That is humans firing not cylons "

Kara believed her " Hold your fire " she shouted

As soon as the bullets stopped flying Kara spoke again " We are just passing through on our way to the airfield, we are not cylons, but we do have a couple of cylons that have defected to our side and I promise if you shoot one of them my first bullet will be for the leader of this group, now hurry up and decide we are running out of time "

Helo looked over at her like she was crazy, she just rolled her eyes " Times up, what's your answer?"

The leader spoke " How do we know you are not a cylon?"

Boomer stood up next to Starbuck and heard them gasp as they had saw her before, she chuckled " If Starbuck was a cylon this war would already be over "

Helo stood up then " Yep to bad she is just a human we could do well with a squadron of Starbucks "

Sharon stood up laughing " I would feel bad for Apollo, could you imagine him trying to control more than one of her "

That got all four of them laughing.

The leader Anders shouted " What the frak is wrong with you all, we are basically standing out in the open "

Kara settled down and put Starbuck back in play " Then I suggest you find us a place to talk and remember what I said about my friends, if you shoot one of them " she pointed her gun at Anders " You will be the first to die, so I suggest you get your people in order "

As they followed Anders Kara leaned in close" To protect your identity we will call you eight, for all we know there could be a cylon embedded in this resistance "

They all nodded in agreement and continued following the resistance.

Kara and Helo were shocked that they were staying in the Delphi high school, since it was so close to town.

After they sat down and ate Anders lead them to a room where they could talk bringing along two of his people with him.

Sam asked " So who is the leader of this little group?"

They all turned to look at Starbuck " I guess that means I am, I am Captain Kara Thrace call sign Starbuck. she pointed at Helo he is Lt. Karl Agethon call sign Helo, she looked at Sharon she is Lt. Sharon Valarie call sign Athena and this one is also Lt. Sharon Valarie call sign Boomer "

Anders was astonished " They are cylons "

Kara made like she was looking them over again " Can't get much past you " then she got serious " We are all on a mission which is very top secret, so I won't be telling you anything else "

Anders was not intimated by her " So why were you wandering around out there?"

Kara stood up and planted her hands face down on the table leaning towards him " We need to get to the Delphi Airfield to find a way off this rock and back to our fleet "

Kara raised up off the table " We need two rooms so we can catch a little sleep, you think you can manage that?"

Anders got up " Sure, but who will be sleeping where?"

Kara gave him her famous Starbuck look " That is none of your business" she said before she walked outside.

Anders looked at the rest of them " Is she always so intense?"

Helo chuckled " That was not intense, she was holding back "

Sharon tried to be diplomatic " Starbuck is one of the best pilots the fleet has ever seen and she can also be a good officer if she chooses to be "

Anders was still confused " You are cylons but I can tell how much you respect her and she seems to respect you also, it all seems a little a strange"

Helo stood up " Can you get us to the airfield or not?"

Anders nodded " Yes first thing in the morning "

Helo helped Sharon get up " Could you show us to our room please "

Boomer got up " I need to talk to Starbuck " she said as she walked away.

Not waiting on an answer she went in search of Starbuck and found her in the library of all places " Looking for something in particular?"

Without turning around " I am looking for something about Pythia "

" Starbuck " Boomer called out " I need to check you and your clothes for tracking devices "

Kara turned around " Why are you just bringing this up "

Boomer shrugged " I was just trying to put as much distance between us as I could and I just thought about it, sorry "

Kara placed the book down " Let's do it in our room "

They walked out and ran into Anders " We need to go to our room now, we need some rest "

He grabbed Kara's shoulder " We have a pyramid court how about we play a game or two after you get settled in ?"

Kara removed his hand from her shoulder " Not tonight, which way to our rooms ?"

Anders sighed maybe he would have better luck tomorrow " Here it is, it's not much, but it will do "

Boomer walked in then Kara turning and saying thanks before shutting the door in his face.

Kara got undressed and laid her clothes on the bed. As Boomer was going through them she asked " Won't the cylons get suspicious with you being gone so long ?"

Boomer found it on the inside of her side pocket on her military pants after showing it to Kara she stepped on it and broke it before answering Kara " I will tell them I got lost and decided to wait for daylight before trying to find my way back "

Boomer came to face her " I need to check your body "

Kara stepped back " The only thing he did was hug me "

Boomer persisted " Then let me check you hair, it will be easier if you wet it "

Kara went to the sink and wet her hair and after drying it went to sit on the bed. Boomer started looking around her ears and then told Kara to lean forward. Boomer jumped back after seeing the mark " Kara did you know you have a birthmark right above your hairline making it hard to see?"

Kara shook her head no " What does it look like?" Kara turned watching as Boomer got her breathing under control.

Kara demanded " What is it Boomer?"

We were taught your religion so we would have knowledge of it " Kara you have a birthmark that looks like Aurora "

Kara felt sick " There has to be a mistake it can't be me, go get Sharon and don't tell her why, I want to see her reaction "

Boomer left and returned with a sleepy Sharon " Okay, what's going on for you to drag me out of bed?"

Kara said " Come look at this and tell me what you see " Sharon looked for a minute then jumped back " Oh god Kara, Aurora has chosen you in this cycle of time "

Kara jumped up " Chosen me for what?"

Athena seemed to think about it " Maybe as a vessel, I'm not sure though "

Boomer asked in a low voice " What does Aurora represent "

Kara thought for a minute " I think a fresh start, a new beginning , I can't remember the rest."

Kara panicked " I don't know what all this means, but the only two people to know about it are you two cylons, what am I gonna do?"

Sharon and Boomer pulled Kara to sit between them on the bed, Sharon spoke first " Kara I won't tell anyone not even Helo, as a matter of fact I have been doubting the cylon god, I mean how can a bunch of robots have a god?"

Boomer took her hand it held it between hers " I vow to you this day never to speak of this again unless you ask me " she paused " Like I said I will stay with the cylons and try to find out what they are up to "

Sharon shook her head " I think it is to risky for you to stay with them, they will become suspicious and once you place your hand in the goo they will know all of your thoughts and even find out about Starbuck and Aurora "

Kara joined in " Sharon is right it is to risky, besides after saving Adama and the fleet on the ground and with Lee's support in time you could become part of the military again "

It was to much for Boomer to take in " Let's sleep on it tonight and figure out what to do in the morning "

Sharon left and Boomer and Starbuck climbed into their beds " I know I should not trust you Boomer, but I do and I will feel much safer if you are close by "

Boomer fell asleep with a smile on her face maybe she had not lost all of her friends.

Anders had been standing in a corner watching them come and go from Kara's room, maybe Kara was a cylon to and just didn't know it.


	24. Chapter 24

A Different Beginning-Chapter 24

This is an AU fic and it starts at the beginning of the cylon attack.

Also I am writing this solo so all mistakes are mine.

Kara and Lee met the day the cylons attacked.

I know my chapters tend to cover just a day, I am going to try and change that.

[BREAK]

CHAPTER 24

Lee woke up with a pounding headache, apparently he had managed to drink enough to pass out without thinking of Kara. Frak he supposed it was too much to ask for him not to think about her while he was awake. As he got up he looked around and realised he had slept in Kara's bunk and not in his. Since he still had on the same clothes from yesterday he went to his office to shower and put clean clothes on.

Lee called the CIC looking for the commander and was told he was in his office. Lee headed there hoping they had figured out which ships to take to Kobol. After knocking he went in and saw that the president and Eloshi were there also. He took a seat waiting for hid dad to finish reading a memo.

Adama put the memo down and looked at Lee " Captain I think we have decided on which ships to take " he paused " We will be taking the Astral Queen and the Aurora, with a couple of raptors "

Lee was shocked " May I ask why we are taking the Aurora?"

Eloshi answered " They have found out that we will be going to the Tomb of Athena based on the scrolls of Pythia and they feel that Aurora's followers should also be going, so we agreed instead of possibly starting a religious riot "

That made Lee recall the conservation he had with Adam and Mark " Eloshi can I ask you, if most of the people believe in the Gods then why does there seem to be different ideas on certain things?"

Eloshi was trying to find the right words to answer " It has always been that way, while we all believe in all the gods, most choose to worship one more than the others "

Lee nodded " I see that you seem to believe in Pythia, so how do you feel about Aurora?"

Roslin entered the conservation " Captain since you don't believe in the gods, why do you have so many questions ?"

Lee sat up straight " Since this mission to Kobol involves the gods so much, I figured I needed to know as much as possible before we go looking for this tomb Madame President "

Adam coughed " I agree with the Captain, so Eloshi how do you feel about Aurora?"

Eloshi took a sip of her tea " There are several beliefs about Aurora, but only two which has the most focus on it, one is that she will appear and show the people to their new home, but they don't believe that one as much as the one about Aurora choosing a newborn child in each new cycle of time, in the event her people ever needed her help " she paused " As with Pythia this doesn't happen often and since Pythia helped thousands of years ago more and more people believe it is Aurora who will help this time, and I admit I am one of those people "

Roslin gasped " Then why are we using Pythias scrolls ?"

Lee was finding all of this interesting " Yeah, why are we?"

Eloshi cleared her throat and spoke " Even though I believe it is Aurora this time, it can't hurt to check out Athena's Tomb"

Lee laughed and spoke before he thought about it " That is just what one of Aurora's followers said "

Adama swung his head around to face Lee " What the frak have you been doing Captain, have you suddenly become religious?"

Lee answered almost like Mark did " If you had asked me a week ago I would have said no " he shrugged his shoulders " Now I am starting to especially since the Aurora keeps getting brought up "

He saw Eloshi watching him closely now, she knew that he knew more than he was saying " Eloshi am I allowed to go on the Aurora?"

Adama sputtered " We are the military Captain we can board any ship we want to "

Lee nodded never taking his eyes away from Eloshi " I know that sir, but I would rather be allowed to board her than just use my military status "

Eloshi stood up to go " I will ask Apollo and let you know "

After Eloshi left Roslin looked at Lee " So now that you believe, do you think I was right to send Captain Thrace for the arrow?"

Lee stood up " No I don't, I believe we could have handled this without putting Starbuck in so much danger, especially since Leobon insists she will be with him "

Lee looked at both of them " Believe me when I say that if Kara doesn't make it home we may never find Earth "

Roslin thought Lee was talking about the arrow, but Adama knew that was not what Lee meant. " Madame President I think this meeting is over I need to speak with my son about some personal issues "

Roslin nodded and got up " Very well let me know of any updates "

[BREAK]**************************************************************************************************************

Adama filled two glasses " Let's sit down Lee, I think there are some things you need to tell me "

Lee took the drink before sitting down " There is dad and it involves some very personal stuff about Kara, things she doesn't even know and that I have just found out since she left "

Adama simply nodded " You know other things also don't you?"

Lee drained his drink sitting it down and standing up pacing " I don't know what to do, I need to talk about it to someone, but there is no one to talk to and when Kara's gets back her whole life is going to be flipped upside down "

Adama wanted to ask him what he meant instead he asked " What about your friend on Cloud Nine can you talk to him?"

Lee laughed " He found out about everything when I did from Adam " he paused " I feel so lost, I need Kara to come home dad "

Adama knew Lee was close to breaking down " Who is Adam ?"

Lee wanted to tell him, but he couldn't " I can't tell you about Adam, but I can tell you some of what I think, but only if you promise not to repeat it because I can't prove it " and silently he thought, he might be going crazy.

Adama could keep one secret if it helped Lee " Okay I promise "

Lee took a couple of breathes " I think Kara was the child chosen by Aurora and you can't say anything to anybody until I have proof, frak I don't think Kara even knows "

Adama sat forward " My gods Lee that is one hell of an assumption what would make you think that ?"

Lee sighed " Those are the things I can't tell you about until Kara returns "

Adama sighed also " So even though you basically threatened Roslin you believe Kara is coming back "

Lee smiled " I know she is coming home, but what I said to Roslin about Kara and Earth I meant it "

Adama grunted " Because of the gods "

Lee chuckled " No, because she promised she would do anything to come back to me "

Adama sighed loudly " Lee you know that I am not a believer, so I need for you to tell me how much of an impact religion will be for us finding Earth"

Lee poured himself another drink " So far it seems to be a lot, but we will know more once Kara returns and what we find in the Tomb of Athena "

Adama got another drink himself " Is there anything else you need to tell me?"

Lee looked at his dad then away " Boomer said she was going to stay on Caprica, but if for some reason she comes back with Kara I think we need to talk to her, I believe she can be a valuable asset"

Adama chuckled " Then I suggest we keep her away from Roslin "

Lee stood up to go " I have a couple of hours before I go on duty and I need to go talk to Mark and Adam, if that's alright sir "

Adama got up and walked over to Lee " Can you give me your word that they can be trusted ?"

Lee smiled " That's easy, they only care about Kara's safety, so yes I give you my word "

Adama really wanted to know more, but he knew Lee would not tell him before telling Kara " Then that's good enough for me "

After Lee left Adama sat down trying to make sense out of the things that were said about Pythia, the Tomb of Athena and especially about Aurora and Kara. He also was worried about what could upset Kara's life so much besides what Lee had already told him.

[BREAK]**************************************************************************************************************

Lee went down to the flight deck and after spotting the Chief walked over to him, Lee could tell he was still upset about Boomer " Hey Chief is there a raptor free I need to make a run over to Cloud Nine ?"

The Chief turned to him " I am not on duty, but if you let me ride along I can get us one, I really need to get off of the Galactica for a while "

Lee looked at him and knew he needed it " That's okay with me, but I have to be back on duty in two hours "

Chief nodded " I'll take what time I can get, wait here while I get us a ride "

As Lee waited he hoped the Chief would not ask him specifically what happened on the base star. Lee wondered when they would go to Kobol because Kara hadn't actually been gone that long.

Lee saw a raptor being brought up and felt the Chief standing next to him waiting so they could board. Lee had a thought " How long has it been since you got off of the Galactica?"

The Chief looked at him with a strange look " I just got back from Kobol "

Lee chuckled " That's not what I meant, I was wondering how long since you left for some R&R ?"

The Chief had to think about that " About six months before the cylons invaded us "

The raptor was ready for them and as they boarded Lee turned to the Chief " That's a long time, try and enjoy yourself for a couple of hours"

Ten minutes later and they were docking, Lee shut all systems down before they exited " If you need me I will be in the restaurant if not I'll see you back here in a hour and a half "

Chief nodded " I think I am going to the bar and have a drink that I haven't had to make myself "

Lee laughed " Kara likes the fruity ones " he said as he walked away.

[BREAK]**************************************************************************************************************

Lee walked up to the small bar that was set up in the restaurant and sat down looking around for Mark or Adam. Not seeing them right away he ordered a scotch and sipped on it.

Lee felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to find Mark standing there " I think we should talk in my office besides Adam is probably already there going over inventory "

Lee picked up his drink and went with Mark to his office, sure enough Adam was there. " Hello Adam I came as soon as I could "

Adam waved his hand " That's alright I figured you would be pretty busy, so sit down and tell us what you know "

Mark sat behind his desk while Adam and Lee sat in the two chairs across from him " As I told Mark I sent someone to Caprica to find Kara and help her get back to the fleet "

Adam was skeptical " There is no way your father would have allowed that "

Lee took a sip of his drink " Your right he wouldn't have, but I found a way around that, but you might not like how I did it "

Mark spoke up " I don't know what you did Lee, but I know you wouldn't have done it unless you believed it would work "

Adam knew there was more " Tell us what you did Lee "

Lee sighed " We had a sleeper cylon and she was a raptor pilot " Lee paused " She tried to kill herself, but she failed by only shooting off a small side of her face " Lee stopped to take a sip of his drink " She was very mad when she realised that the cylons had given her false memories and that she never really had a family "

Adam interrupted Lee " When did she tell you that she was a cylon?"

Lee rubbed his hands across his face " The commander had a mission for her to fly a nuke into the base star, when I went to tell her she got dressed and asked me how much was I willing to do to get Starbuck back " Lee paused and took a breathe " I told her I would do anything, she then asked me to board the raptor with her and she would explain it all to me and that's when she told me she was a cylon and how angry she was with them "

Mark needed to ask " How could she know for sure?"

Lee shrugged " After we landed on the base star she told me to look around, so I did and that is when I saw copies of her, after turning on the nuke she asked me where she should look for Kara, I told her " Lee shivered " Then she told me that they wanted her to kill the commander and she could not do it, then she told me to hit her hard enough to knock her away from the raptor so the cylons would believe she tried and then she told me to leave " Lee took a deep breath " Just as I jumped away I saw the base star explode " Lee did not know how they just believed everything he said because he knew he would not if it was the other way around.

Mark didn't understand " If she died how is she supposed to help Kara?"

Frak Lee remembered they had not said anything about what happened when a cylon died " You didn't hear it from me, but the cylons conscience downloads into a new body " The more questions he answered the crazier he sounded at least to himself.

Mark was stunned " She thinks she will download on Caprica?"

Lee shook his head " No they download on a certain base star, Boomer believes that it will still be in space above Caprica "

Adam stated " You sound like you trust her, how come?"

Lee reached for his drink " For one thing she was pissed off at the cylons for what they did to her and secondly Kara and Boomer have been friends for a while now, so yeah I trust her "

Lee needed to ask some things himself " Adam did you know that Aurora is one of the ships that will be jumping to Kobol?"

Adam looked surprised " No I didn't know, but now that I do I plan on being on it "

Lee looked closely at Adam " Do you believe the prophecy about Aurora choosing a newborn child for each new cycle?"

Adam knew Lee was smart and would put two and two together " Yes I believe the prophecy "

Lee decided to try and get more from Adam " Does Kara have any idea what she is?"

Adam knew it was useless to try and deny what Lee had already figured out " No, not that I know of, and now that you seem to know that means only you, the oracle and myself know for sure, that is why I left her all those years ago so no one could connect Kara to me "

Mark who had been listening remembered talking to Kara about Aurora so he asked with a raised voice " Are you two going to let me know what you are talking about?"

After looking at Lee first Adam turned to Mark " Kara has the mark of Aurora and the more people that know about it the more danger she will be in and not just from the cylons "

That worried Lee " What do you mean, who else will she be in danger from?"

Adam looked at both of them for a second " From the non believers and ironically from some of the most devote believers of the other gods "

Mark was confused " That makes no sense "

Adam did not have the time to try and explain religion to them " Religion causes a lot more problems than it should and that is why no one else needs to know about Kara and what she is "

Lee agreed and knew he needed to make certain his dad never talked about it " It sounds a lot like politics " he stood up " I have to go I am scheduled for CAP "

Adam walked out with him " Let me know before the jump so I can be on board the Aurora "

Lee nodded " I will and I will talk to you later Mark "

Mark who was still at his desk just waved wondering when his life had became so upside down then he remembered it was when he met Kara which still didn't really explain it. He decided to just roll with whatever happened from here on out because it was useless to try and stop something this large from rolling downhill.

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

As Lee waited on the chief he was amazed that in the span of twenty-four hours how much his views on religion had changed. Although there was no tangible proof yet he found that he felt different now, and Kara's dad said she had the mark of Aurora and Lee had no doubt that it was the truth. Lee was worried what that would mean for Kara personally in regards to her and Aurora. He also knew that if she didn't return soon he would find a way back to Caprica.

When the Chief showed up they headed back to the Galactia in silence as they were caught up in their own thoughts. Lee had just enough time to shut the raptor down before changing into his flight suit for CAP.

Even though the Chief was still off shift he found a viper to work on trying to forget about Boomer , which he knew was not likely.

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

When Kara woke up for a moment she forgot where she was until she looked around and saw Boomer looking out of the window. After stretching she sat up " Have you decided what you are going to do Boomer?"

Boomer turned from the window and leaned against the wall next to it " No, I thought if I stayed here I might be more useful, but Athena is right now that I know about you and Aurora it makes my staying here more dangerous for you, what do you think Starbuck?"

Starbuck looked at her and chuckled " I don't think I am the best person to ask right now, I mean I just found out I have the mark of Aurora and I don't have a fraking clue what to do about anything plus I am on the run with not one but two Sharon cylons, it makes me wonder if the gods got bored and decided to play around with us "

Boomer had to laugh at that especially if it was true about Aurora and Starbuck " I guess we could ask Athena she seems to know more than we do or she is just bluffing her way through it better than we are "

Kara got up to dress " Your right, but first I want to make sure every member of this resistance group is accounted for, we don't need any more surprises especially now that I have told the leader about you and Athena " Kara turned around and grinned at Boomer " I was going to go with you being twins, but I know that would have jinxed it and a third one would pop up "

Boomer had to ask " Starbuck I know how much you believe in the gods, so do you believe this thing about you and Aurora and destiny?"

Kara knew she wanted a serious answer " I believe the myth, but I am having a hard time believing that she would choose someone as fraked up as me " Kara paused before asking " What about the God cylons believe in, do you believe that way to?"

Boomer chuckled " Talk about being fraked up, until I was activated or whatever, I thought I had a family and grew up believing in the same gods you do and I don't have a fraking clue as to what a cylon god means, so until we figure something out we are all fraked up, including the cylons "

Kara smiled then her face changed " Yeah it would seem fraking hilarious if billions of people had not been killed a few months ago "

That sobered Boomer so she turned to look out of the window once more " I think I need to go back with you, with this Aurora thing I think you are going to need as much back up as you can get even if the only way I can help is from the brig "

As they walked out the door Starbuck commented " Well that is one thing decided, now we need to figure out the rest because I am ready to get back to Lee "

They walked right into Helo as him and Athena were coming out of their room and Kara couldn't help but pick on Helo " Did you have as much fun with your cylon last night as I did with mine Helo?" then she winked at Boomer

Helo stepped back from her " Frak Starbuck it is to early in the morning for your bullshit "

Kara new he was serious and it just made her want to pick with him some more, she winked at Athena who was trying not to laugh " Sorry Helo, I will trade with you tonight if you want " she said with a straight face

Helo looked at all three of them trying not to laugh at him " You know what, frak all three of you " and he walked off leaving them standing there.

Before they took a step Helo came back around the corner he had just turned at motioning for them to move back " Starbuck go now "

They all three snapped into military defense and went back the way they came with Starbuck in the lead as Helo took up the rear without missing a beat.

[BREAK]**************************************************************************************************************

Leobon was furious he had been searching for Kara all night after he got back and found her gone. He knew he could not go to Cavil or any of the others for help he knew that six would have told them what happened at the museum. He would not be surprised if six was the one that had found Kara. Leobon knew he had no choice but to join the others and try to explain and he needed to see the hybrid.

After looking around the house and the cellar one more time for clues he locked up and left and flew his raider back up to the base star. The minute he walked into the central area he knew that six had told everyone.

Cavil took two long steps toward him " Since you took it upon yourself to make a decision regarding Kara Thrace where in the frak is she?"

Leobon glanced over and saw Caprica the six that was with him in the museum smirking " I don't know, why don't you ask Caprica she was the only one who knew I had Kara? "

Caprica saw everyone look her way " I don't know where she is, if I did she would be dead " she hoped she had said that with enough conviction because her mission could not be compromised it was to important, that was why she had tried to get her away from Leobon at the museum.

Finally Cavil spoke up " We now have two problems to take care of first I want half of you looking for Thrace and the other half looking for our rouge eight and her pilot friend " Cavil paused " Leobon I want you looking for the eight not Thrace "

Leobon nodded he was lucky that Cavil had not done worse to him, anyway it didn't matter what Cavil said he was going after Kara.

Caprica left the meeting quickly she had another meeting she had to get to that was more important than this one.

Leobon silently walked away headed to see the Hybrid.

[BREAK]*************************************************************************************************************

* * *

( Leave a comment )


	25. Chapter 25

**THIS IS AN A.U. STORY THAT BEGINS WHEN THE CYLONS INVADED THE TWELVE COLONIES AND KARA AND LEE MEET FOR THE FIRST TIME.  
**

A.N.-All mistakes are mine so I will try not to make very many.-Also since there are so many stories out there covering this time it is hard not to overlap the others and still keep to my story line. I know there is mysticism in mine, but I hope you will still enjoy reading it. I actually planned on not having to much to do with the cylons, but they keep popping up or maybe I am subconsciously trying to convert them. LOL It is easier for me to believe in Kara's gods than in a god for metal cylons.

* * *

A DIFFERENT BEGINNING-CHAPTER 25

[BREAK]*************************************************************************************************************

As soon as Caprica left the meeting she headed to the hangar bay for a heavy raider to take her to the surface. After taking off she thought back to the reason she had a meeting.

Three days ago she had been on Caprica searching for the rouge eight when she came upon the Temple of Delphi. As she walked in she stopped upon seeing one of her models sitting on a prayer rug in the middle of the Temple. Caprica stayed silent and watched her sister who seemed to be deep in thought.

Caprica approached her silently until she was standing close behind her noting that her sister still did not know she was there. As she continued to stand there she looked around before looking back at her sister finally realising she was projecting. Caprica reached out to lay a hand on her shoulder letting her know she was there causing her sister to jerk in surprise letting go of the projection, but not before Caprica caught a vague look at someone else in the projection.

The six jumped up startled to find Caprica standing there, so she quickly calmed herself " Caprica what are you doing here?"

Caprica would answer her because she had questions of her own " Searching for the rouge eight, but the better question is what are you doing here?"

Six looked away for a moment trying to come up with something Caprica would believe, but before she could answer she heard a voice she recognized ' Tell her, maybe she will help if you remind her she is the main reason billions of humans are dead '

Caprica watched her as she waited on her to answer, it almost seemed like she was listening to something the way she had her head cocked.

Six took a deep breath before speaking " As my sister can I trust you Caprica ?"

Caprica nodded because she had secrets of her own.

Six took her hand " Sit with me and I will try to explain "

The Temple had taken some damage during the bombings, but was still intact for the most part. As Caprica sat down the Temple changed back to the way it looked before the bombings, Caprica gasped " Are you projecting sister?"

Six smiled " No, it's not me doing that?"

Caprica had an eerie feeling surrounding her " Then who or what is doing it?"

Six didn't answer, instead she asked one of her own " Caprica does it bother you that you killed billions of humans?"

It did bother her, but no one knew that " Maybe, why?"

Six thought for a minute how to explain " I stumbled across this Temple during a search a few days ago and I came in to look around, after a while I sat down right here where we are now " she took a second before continuing " Caprica do you think there is any truth to the Gods that the humans believe in?"

Caprica gasped " Six you can't say things like that you know what will happen to you "

Six smiled and her face had the most serene look Caprica had ever seen, even during her times among the humans. " When I came in here and sat in this very spot I felt nothing but peace around me and even though I did not know what that felt like before, I knew it the second I felt it "

Caprica was starting to worry about her sister " How long has it been since you connected with the others?"

Six lowered her head " Not since I first came in here, I don't want to connect with the others anymore, what we did was wrong and now I have been given a chance to help the humans and I am going to "

Caprica started to get up, but six grabbed her hand and pulled her back down " Caprica please let me finish explaining "

As Caprica sat back down she had that eerie feeling again " Six is there someone else in here?"

Six smiled " You feel her don't you?"

Caprica looked around " Yes, but who is it sister?" she said it almost as a command

Caprica watched as six cocked her head again.

Six heard her ' Tell her child '

Before six said anything she held onto Caprica's hand to keep her from leaving " It is Aurora "

Caprica had never been as shocked as she was at that moment " Are you sure ?" as she asked she remembered the vague outline of someone in her sisters projection.

Six simply nodded.

Caprica still did not know what to believe " What does she want with you?"

Six removed her hand from Caprica and sat back " She has asked me to help Kara Thrace, she said her destiny is not about the cylons and if I help her I can live out my life like a human "

At this point Caprica did not know if she or her sister was the crazy one " What does that mean?"

Six grinned " It means no more down loading and no more killing and I will be allowed to live on Earth, but any cylon that tries to harm Kara Thrace will never see Earth and those that continue to believe in the false cylon god will not be allowed on Earth either "

Caprica was shocked and scared at the same time " You believe all of that because you hear a voice?"

Six looked around " Not just that, I have seen her and she is beautiful Caprica, and if you promise to help me she will show herself, but remember she is a Goddess so she will know if you are lying "

Caprican's mind was spinning, last week she had started to question Cavil's order to destroy the colonies and hunt down the survivors and Leobon was crazy obsessed with Starbuck. Could she be forgiven for her part in this, and how could she jump from one belief to another. She looked over at her sister who looked like she belonged here in this temple instead of on a base star.

Caprica looked at six " I don't know what to believe anymore, but I can promise to help you and not betray you to the others "

Six grinned and reached for Caprica's hand " Just relax and watch, she only shows up when I project "

Caprica watched as six projected and all of a sudden there stood a woman in a long blue dress that seemed to float around her as she stood about ten feet from them.

When the woman spoke Caprica almost jumped up and ran " I know this is a lot to take in, but six needs your help and as you have a lot to be forgiven for I made sure you were the one to find six in here "

As she heard those words a feeling Caprica didn't know filled her and she then knew what guilt felt like for all the murders she committed and her eyes filled with tears and all she could do was choke out " I'm sorry " over and over.

Six held her sister " It's okay Caprica I felt the same way at first, what you are feeling is what humans feel and once you get used to all the different feelings some of them are beautiful "

Caprica pulled back after calming down " What can I do to help?"

Aurora spoke " Kara will be here in a few days and you need to keep her away from Leobon and get her back to the fleet "

[BREAK]*************************************************************************************************************

After failing to get Kara away from Leobon she and her sister had been searching for her. She remembered asking Starbuck in the museum if she wanted to know how she knew she was there instead Starbuck decided to fight.

Caprica landed the raider where she was supposed to meet her sister, she had been covering for her so that she would not have to go back to the base star.

Caprica could feel someone coming close so she stepped back in the shadow of the raider to watch. When she saw her sister she stepped out to greet her " Have you found her?"

Six was breathing hard, she had been running ever since someone had noticed her " She is with the resistance, I have been watching them since they came in with them last night "

Caprica was curious " Who else is with her?"

Six smiled, Caprica noticed she had been doing that a lot, it was like she was filled with happiness, Caprica envied her that and hoped she could feel that way someday " Our rouge eight, Helo and Boomer "

Caprica gasped " Do you think they will hurt her?"

Six was smiling again " No, Boomer and the other eight are protecting her "

Caprica had to ask " Do you think they have seen Aurora?"

At that question six started laughing " No, I listened to them last night and Kara, Boomer and the other eight that they are now calling Athena found out that Kara is marked with the symbol of Aurora "

Caprica started laughing and then explained " Starbuck is Aurora's chosen one and since the hybrids have access to all the universe that is why she is saying Kara Thrace's name and Leobon is misinterpreting the meaning "

Six grabbed Caprica's arm " You can never let anyone know about this, we need to let them listen to Leobon while we protect Kara and the fleet"

Caprica nodded " I know, but should we let Boomer know that we know in case we should need each other before they leave?"

Six didn't have an answer to that " I don't know, do you think she will believe us?"

Caprica wasn't sure herself " Go back and stay close to them in case they need help and if you get caught talk to Boomer and maybe Starbuck, by the way why are you dressed like that?"

Six looked at her clothes " I was trying to blend in "

Caprica nodded " Good idea, now go back and I will try to keep anyone from looking in this area "

Six had turned to leave, but stopped and turned around " They are looking for a way off of Caprica "

Just before Caprica got back in the raider " I will try to think of something "

[BREAK]**************************************************************************************************************

Kara didn't stop running until she reached the treeline behind the high school then turned to cover the others as they came past her.

Once they were all there they moved further into the trees and squatted down behind a fallen tree. After several minutes she looked at Helo "Okay, what was that all about Helo?"

Helo sat down on the ground before explaining " I saw a woman who looked like the six model, she was standing away from the others and was looking around so I turned and ran before she saw me"

Boomer spoke up " How come nobody else saw her?"

Helo shrugged " She was dressed like someone in the resistance "

Athena slapped his shoulder " Are you sure Helo, because the sixes would not be caught dead looking like that?"

Kara didn't ask him anything she just looked at him " Fine, I am not one hundred percent sure, but I couldn't take the chance "

Kara stood up " Since we haven't heard any shooting I think we need to go back, I am going to have Anders gather all of his people up so we can make sure there are no cylons in his group "

After Helo got up he looked at Kara " Starbuck I don't think Anders is going to like you telling him what to do "

Kara started walking back " Tough shit, he either does it or we leave and find our own way off of this hellhole "

Kara stopped and turned around " Boomer I want you and Athena to spread out and hang back just a little in case this turns into a big frak up "

Helo grabbed her shoulder before she could turn " Where do you want me?"

Starbuck gave him a look " Did Athena literally frak your brains out, where the frak do you think I want you Helo " then she walked off

Boomer bumped him as she walked by " On her six Helo "

He looked at Athena who winked at him before she left to get in position.

Frak Helo thought, how did I get stuck with these three he would never know.

Kara didn't waste any time as she singled Anders out and headed to where he was " Anders I need all of your people accounted for right now "

Anders looked at her " In case you have forgotten this is my place and you don't tell me or my people what to do "

Helo decided to jump in before this got bad " Look Anders I thought I saw a cylon in the court yard earlier and Starbuck wants to make sure there are no cylons in the resistance "

Anders thought a minute and looked around " It seems to me you are the ones with cylons and I am still not convinced you are not one of them "

Helo saw Starbuck stiffen and place her hand on the hilt of her gun " Look Anders couldn't you just call a meeting or something besides we need to make plans to find a raider so we can get back to the fleet "

Anders looked at Starbuck one more time and he knew to let this go " Fine, we will meet in the gym in an hour " then he stalked off

Kara walked off as soon as Anders walked away leaving Helo to catch up to her " Alright Kara what else is going on with you?"

Kara stopped and motioned for Athena and Boomer to stay in position in the treeline then she sat down on an old crate " You might want to sit down Helo it could take a while "

Helo sat down and Kara started telling about the mark on her.

[BREAK]*************************************************************************************************************

Leobon had left the meeting an hour ago and had been sitting by the hybrid she had yet to mention Kara and he was getting frustrated.

After asking endless questions he stuck his hand in and started swirling the gooey water hoping to see an answer there when the hybrid grabbed his arm tightly " The one you seek is beyond your reach " she stopped talking but didn't let go " She is being prepared for her destiny and you are not a part of it, if you interfere you will bring death to your kind "

Leobon jerked his hand out of her grasp " You are wrong, what you see is false, she will be mine no matter what"

As he walked away he heard " You have been warned "

Cavil had been standing where Leobon could not see him. He heard what the hybrid said, but he could care less about Kara Thrace's destiny he knew now that he could use Leobon to side with him on destroying the humans once and for all as long as he promised him Thrace.

[BREAK]**************************************************************************************************************

Kara had finished telling Helo everything and she was waiting on him to say something.

Helo was trying to wrap his mind around everything Kara had said. He knew she would not lie about something concerning her faith, and to top it all off Athena and Boomer believed it also. " Let me see it Kara "

Kara looked around to make sure they were alone and turned her back to him and pulled her hair out of the way she dropped it when Helo exclaimed " My gods, it's true "

Kara turned around and Helo looked at her like he never had before " Don't you fraking look at me like that Helo, I am still the same person and don't you dare tell anybody about this, I am already afraid of what Lee will think "

Helo turned away looking at the tree line " Kara you know I would never tell anybody and as for Lee you said he doesn't believe in the gods so he will probably come up with a logical reason for it "

Anders walked up " Everyone is in the gym and could you hurry it up we all have things that need to be done " he walked off

Kara looked once more to make sure Athena and Boomer were still standing watch and got up to head inside.

Helo chuckled " Starbuck I don't think Anders likes you very much "

Kara smirked " Good thing I don't need him to fraking like me then "

[BREAK]**************************************************************************************************************

Boomer knew that Starbuck had told Helo about Aurora when she saw her flip her hair out of the way and he looked a little shell shocked.

Boomer knew everyone was inside except two men Anders had left at the front and back entrance so when she heard a noise behind her she quickly turned and had the person on the ground.

When she looked down she saw a six model dressed like the resistance, so Helo had been right after all. " What do you want?"

The six model looked up at her " Boomer I need to tell you some things and you need to trust me because Kara's life depends on it "

Boomer kept her foot on her and the gun to her head " Who sent you?"

Six hoped she believed her " Aurora "

Boomer didn't trust her " There is no fraking way "

Six decided to try something else " Let me up and I can prove it, but we have to hurry before the meeting is over "

Boomer took her foot off and raised the gun to her chest as she stood up " How in the frak can you prove it?"

Six grinned at her " Projection "

Boomer shook her head " We can all project "

Six nodded " That's true, but she will only appear if I project "

Boomer looked around " Is there anybody else with you?"

Six grinned again " Nope, just me "

Boomer turned toward Athena not taking her eyes off of six " Athena come here " she called loud enough for Athena, but not loud enough that anyone else could hear her.

Athena showed up " What the frak is going on Boomer?"

Boomer nodded to six " She says Aurora sent her and she can prove it by projecting and I need you to keep watch while I am in her projection "

Athena nodded " You had better hurry up before Starbuck shows up "

Six started grinning " When I prove it to you can I meet Kara, please "

Athena and Boomer exchanged looks that clearly said this six had her wires crossed up.

Boomer grabbed her arm " Let's just do this " Boomer had no idea what was going on, because there was no way that a goddess would show herself to a cylon.

Boomer barely finished the thought when she found herself in a Temple with a woman dressed in a flowing blue dress appeared in front of her and she quickly let go of six " Frak, frak there is no way "

Athena quickly went to Boomer " Are you all right?" Athena looked at the six and saw her just standing there like she was talking to someone.

Boomer literally shook " That is fraking impossible "

Athena wanted to shout " What happened Boomer ?"

Boomer looked at Athena a second " It will be easier for you to see then for me to tell you " she pointed at six

Athena figured maybe Boomer had not seen as many projections as she had since she was recently activated so she grabbed six's hand.

Six had been waiting for Boomer to come back except Athena showed up instead and as Athena was looking at six she did not see the woman until she spoke " Hello Athena "

Athena turned her head quickly and if six had not held onto her she would have done exactly what Boomer did " Um hello "

Aurora laughed " I never intended on so many cylons seeing me, but I had to make sure Kara had some allies among the cylons and that would not have happened if six had not shown up in the Temple of Delphi and sat on the prayer rug "

Athena finally got her voice back " So it is true, Kara is to save the human race and lead them to Earth?"

Aurora glided closer " Yes it is true "

Athena looked at six who was beaming " What about the cylons?"

Aurora looked toward six " Six can explain that to you, she has already earned her passage to Earth "

Athena was curious " Why did you show yourself to us?"

Aurora tilted her head to the side " I know what Kara discovered last night, I need you to tell her that some of her answers are in the fleet others will be answered along the way, but most of all Athena I need you and Boomer to vow that you will protect her at all costs "

Athena looked at her " We already have you should know that "

Aurora chuckled " If you want passage to Earth you must make that vow before me "

Six spoke up " Go ahead Athena I already have and so has Caprica "

Athena gasped " Are you crazy, you can't trust her she is the one most responsible for the attacks?"

Aurora stared at Athena " I know what she did and she is repaying that debt now and forever, now I need your vow "

Athena knew there was no reason not to she had already decided " I vow to protect Kara Thrace at all costs "

Aurora nodded " May the Gods go be you, could you please send Boomer back "

Athena nodded and let go.

Boomer grabbed Athena when she came back " What did you see?"

Athena was still try to absorb it all " It is Aurora and you have to go back in the projection "

Boomer backed up " Nope, I am not doing that again "

Athena grabbed her hand " Boomer you have to, look just go in and say' I vow to protect Kara at all costs' then you can let go and I will explain it all to you "

Boomer finally did as Athena said and got the frak out of there " Did she say what to tell Starbuck?"

Athena thought about it " No, but I think that six has more answers than we do "

Six had let go of the projection and was standing there with them " Can I meet Kara now?"

Athena knew they were running out of time " How come Aurora has not shown herself to Starbuck?"

Six looked at each of them " She can't because Kara is her chosen one and the gods say that no chosen mortal can ever see the one that has chosen them "

Athena gasped as she remembered and looked at Boomer " Caprica has seen Aurora "

Boomer almost yelled " What, why "

Six could see they were getting upset " It's okay Caprica has vowed to protect Kara also and she is trying to get a heavy raider so Kara can rejoin the fleet and she is keeping the search away from this area " Six paused " Caprica is protecting me also by keeping me away from the daily plug ins since I am the only one who can talk to Aurora and we will find a way to communicate with the two of you in the fleet "

Athena asked another question " What about protection of the fleet?"

Six spoke quickly as she saw the meeting had ended " Caprica and I will try and protect the fleet as best as we can, you can tell Kara all of this, I will be in touch as soon as we have a raider for all of you and I want to meet Kara before you leave "

Six had ran off before Boomer or Athena could ask her anything else.

Boomer looked at Athena " Please tell me we are not crazy and that really did happen "

Athena laughed " I was going to ask you the same thing "

They looked up and saw Starbuck motioning them to come meet them.

Boomer asked " Should we tell her now?"

Athena shrugged " We have to because six said Caprica was getting a raider "

Boomer nodded " Your right, you can tell her "

Athena inhaled " Me, she is closer to you "

Boomer " We both will "

Starbuck waited until they were standing with her and Helo " We didn't find any cylons in the resistance, but I want you two to keep an eye out " Starbuck paused a moment " Anything happen out here?"

Starbuck nor Helo missed the look between them, Helo spoke up " What happened Athena?"

Boomer knew Starbuck was looking at her so she raised her eyes to meet hers " We had a little chat with Aurora"

[BREAK]*************************************************************************************************************

A.N.-I have been trying to find the right name for six but so far no joy-any ideas?


	26. Chapter 26

A Different Beginning-Chapter 26

THIS IS AN A.U. STORY THAT BEGINS WHEN THE CYLONS DESTROY THE TWELVE COLONIES AND KARA AND LEE MEET FOR THE FIRST TIME.

A.N.-All mistakes are mine as I am writing this solo. Also this story contains some mysticism so I hope you continue to read it. The BSG writers brought up Aurora, Pythia, Lords of Kobol and Kara's destiny then dropped it in the end and switched their focus onto the cylons, so this is my way of trying to understand what could have happened if they had not changed it. Also other than an earlier attempt at writing [ which was not good ] this is basically my first story.

[BREAK]****************************************************************************************************************

CHAPTER 26

[BREAK]*****************************************************************************************************************

Kara and Helo's expression was almost the same as they stood there with a jaw-dropped open mouth look.

Helo recovered first " What did you say?"

After glancing at Athena, Boomer answered " We talked to Aurora in a projection "

Kara finally was able to speak " There is no fraking way that you saw Aurora, the cylons must have manipulated you "

Athena looked at Helo " It was real, a six approached Boomer and she showed us Aurora in her projection and Aurora made us vow to her that we would protect Starbuck and by doing so we would earn our passage to Earth like the six had done "

Kara still did not believe them " Why would Aurora show herself to cylons?"

Athena looked at Starbuck " She never would have if the six had not entered the Temple of Delphi and sat on the prayer rug "

Boomer hated what she had to say next " That's not all, Caprica also saw and talked to Aurora " she saw Starbuck was going to try and deny it again so she spoke quickly " Caprica and six are going to try and help the fleet from inside the cylon base star and Caprica is getting us a raider so we can get you back to the fleet "

Athena picked up relaying other things before Helo or Starbuck could say anything " Starbuck, Aurora said some of your answers are with the fleet and others will be answered along the way to Earth "

Kara had started pacing and did not say anything for a while then she stopped " Okay if what you say is true show me, you two can project also I assume "

Athena took a breath " We can, but Aurora will only show herself in the six's projection, plus since you are Aurora's chosen one she can not show herself to you, I think it is some kind of rule the gods have "

Starbuck was mad by the time Athena finished " Well that is just fraking great, I can't see her but the cylons can " after a moment she continued ranting " None of this makes any sense, I need to get back to the fleet and Lee right fraking now "

Anders came around the corner because he heard raised voices " What's going on?"

Kara turned and gave him a look that would have sent most people running away from her " It is none of your fraking business " then she stormed off with Boomer following right behind her.

Anders looked at Helo " Is she always such a bitch?"

Athena put her hand on Helo's arm when she saw him tense up and responded to what Anders had said " As the highest ranking officer here she has a lot of responsibility on her right now and on top of that the fleet is depending on her, so the best thing you can do is stay out of her way and ignore her "

Anders was not impressed " I feel sorry for the man in her life, that is if she is even capable of getting a man with her attitude "

Athena knew that she could not stop Helo this time, so she took her hand off of his arm right as he balled up his fist and landed a blow to Ander's face knocking him to the ground, Helo looked down at him " That was for Apollo the man in her life, since he is not here to do it himself "

After Helo stalked off Athena looked down at Ander's " You are lucky that Apollo is not here or you would have gotten much worse than one punch"

Athena reached out to help him up, but he pushed her hand away so she walked off to find Helo.

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

Kara had made her way back to her room and slid down the wall to sit. Kara knew she needed Lee right now to help her make sense of all this crazy stuff. She honestly did not know how much longer she could hold on before breaking down. Kara wished she had her idols with her at least they would give her a small comfort. She heard someone enter the room and was about to go off on them before she saw it was Boomer.

Boomer took a chair and placed it against the door before making her way to Starbuck and sat down beside her " Starbuck I can't offer you much, but I know you probably still try and go to Temple when you can "

Kara looked at her " What are you trying to get at Boomer?"

Boomer clasped her hands together " I can't show you Aurora, but I can project the Temple six showed us and I thought it might help you some "

Kara thought about it, she wished there was a Temple close by but she knew there was not and she was unsure if she wanted to be in a cylons projection.

Boomer could tell she was hesitant " It will be okay Starbuck and I will be right beside you "

Kara figured it couldn't hurt and the gods knew she needed something " Okay, tell me what to do "

Boomer turned to face her " Just hold onto my hand and when you want out just let my hand go "

Kara turned toward Boomer and crossed her legs in a sitting position and grabbed Boomer's hand and suddenly found herself in the Temple of Delphi, she knew this because she had gone there several times " Oh my gods this feels and looks so real "

Boomer smiled " Just try and forget I am here and do what you normally would do " after that Boomer remained silent and still.

Kara never allowed anyone to witness her prayers or even talk about them, which is why she could not figure out how Leobon knew so much about this part of her life.

She glanced at Boomer and saw her sitting with her on the prayer rug with her eyes closed as if she herself was praying silently which Kara knew was not possible because she was a cylon.

Kara looked around the Temple once more and closed her eyes and began praying silently to the gods. ' Lords of Kobol here my prayers please look after your son Lee Adama and the fleet and help guide me in my destiny if that is your will ' Kara paused before she asked for something for herself ' Please help me return to the fleet and Lee as soon as possible '

After her prayers were over Kara sat very still and let the Temple surround her seeking a calmness to block out the chaos that her life had became. For a brief moment she thought she felt a presence with her that was not Boomer. With one last look around the Temple she let go and was back in her room at the school.

Kara looked at Boomer to thank her, but stopped when she saw tears in Boomers eyes " What's wrong Boomer?"

Boomer wiped her eyes " I felt something that I have not felt since I was a child and even though I know those were false memories I still remember them "

Kara did not know how to respond to something like that so she asked "What did you feel?"

Boomer locked eyes with Kara " I felt loved and safe it was so peaceful, how can that be Starbuck?"

Kara didn't have a clue " Maybe you were programmed to feel those things "

Boomer shook her head " That's not it because the cylons don't know about things like that, what if there really isn't a cylon god?"

Kara smirked " You are asking the wrong person because I never believed the cylons had a god simply based on the fact that humans created the cylons in the first place "

Boomer gasped " Oh my god you may be right because we evolved only after we were created by humans "

Kara looked at her weirdly " Then who told you about the cylon god?"

All of a sudden Boomer jumped up and was pissed off " Cavil, that fraking piece of shit told us all about the cylon god, but why?"

Kara stood up and stretched " Probably because he thinks he is god or he is setting himself up to be one "

Boomer knew she had a lot to think about and she needed to find some answers before she could try and convince other cylons about what Cavil had done. She doubted even then very few would believe her.

Kara broke into her thoughts " Come on Boomer we need to come up with a plan in case Caprica can't get us a raider "

They left the room to go meet with the others, but not before Kara grabbed the arrow which was now in a tube and slung it onto her shoulders across her back.

Kara stopped when they got to the courtyard " Thanks for what you did back there Boomer " Kara was not used to thanking anybody, but the projection of the Temple helped her more than she would admit.

[BREAK]**************************************************************************************************************

Starbuck and Boomer stood there as Athena walked across the courtyard to meet them " So what's our plan?"

Kara looked around to make sure no one was close to them " We are still going to try and steal a raider in case Caprica doesn't show up with one, what's going on over there?" she nodded to the group at the edge of the courtyard.

Athena looked back " Helo, Anders and a few of the others are trying to fine a way into the Delphi air base "

Kara started to walk away " Then I guess we better join them "

When they reached them Kara ignored Anders " So, Helo did you find a way in?"

Helo looked up from the plans " They seem to have upped their security, we may not be able to go in until tomorrow morning "

Athena grabbed the binoculars and went up to the top of the hill that was on one side of the school with Starbuck following her.

Starbuck laid down beside her waiting while she looked " What are they doing Athena, do you think they know what we are planning on doing?"

Athena handed her the binoculars "I don't think so, it looks like they are refueling the raiders and I think Helo is right we will have to wait till morning"

Starbuck had been looking at the base while Athena told her what she thought and was about to stop looking when she spotted a six looking their way " Frak, I think someone knows we are here "

Athena took the binoculars back to look at what Starbuck had seen, she quickly saw the six and sighed in relief " That is Caprica, she must be trying to find a way to get a raider without anyone knowing "

Besides Leobon, Caprica is the last cylon she was willing to trust " Athena do you think she can be trusted?"

Athena grinned " Normally I would say no, but after what six told us it seems that Aurora trusts her "

Kara was getting tired of hearing six all of the time " I think this six you keep talking about needs a name cause I am sick of hearing six said this or six said that, so what do you think of the name Willow ?"

Athena smiled " I like it, she is so different from the other six's and it fits her really good, how did you come up with that name? "

Kara winked and looked up, Athena looked up and then back at her " I don't understand "

Kara chuckled " We have been laying under this willow tree for the last half hour "

Athena laughed " I should have known you would have a reason for coming up with Willow "

They got up and headed back to the group " We will wait until the morning before going ahead with our plan "

Boomer and Helo both nodded, but Anders wasn't satisfied " Why are you changing the plan?"

As much as Kara wanted to not answer him she knew she needed to stop keeping the resistance leader out of the loop " Things have changed and we have no choice but to change our plans now "

That wasn't enough for Anders " There are things you are not telling us, I want to know what they are?"

Kara rubbed a hand across her face " This is a military matter Anders, therefore you are on a need to know bases only "

As Kara started to walk away Anders grabbed her arm " That's not good enough "

Kara looked from the hand he had on her to his face " That is all you are getting, now I suggest you let go of me before this turns ugly and don't ever touch me again "

Anders looked around and saw Helo and the two cylons surrounding them, he knew his people could have handled this if there were not two cylons who looked ready to defend Starbuck at all costs and knew it would cost some of his people their lives and with that thought he let her go.

After that was over Helo found himself standing there with Anders and decided to give him some advice " Anders Starbuck is military to the bone there are things she doesn't even tell us and you need to stop baiting her before something bad happens that will affect us all "

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

Kara and Boomer went to what was serving as a lunch room to grab something to eat and after picking a table in the corner they sat down to eat.

Kara was about to say something when she saw Helo and Athena enter the room to find something to eat also and then headed their way.

After a few minutes Helo spoke " Starbuck what are we going to do with the people in the resistance?"

Starbuck shrugged her shoulders " I don't know, there will not be enough room for them in one raider "

Athena had a thought " What if we can get two raiders Boomer and I both know how to fly them?"

Starbuck looked at Helo " Find out if they want to leave here before we start busting our asses trying to get two raiders "

Boomer pushed her plate away " Tonight I am going to try and find Caprica or the six and see if they have a raider yet "

Starbuck nodded " If you talk to them let them know we will be trying to get another one before dawn in case some other people decide to go, because I plan to leave this planet tomorrow and you can stop calling her six I have named her Willow "

Helo looked at her " Why did you do that?"

Athena chuckled " She was sick of hearing us refer to her as six so often "

Starbuck stood up " I am going to try and get some sleep, Helo make sure you talk to Anders tonight because we might have to move fast tomorrow "

They sat there while Starbuck walked off.

Helo was the first to say something " Do you two really believe that was Aurora that you saw?"

They both answered " Yes "

Helo looked at them for a while before stating " You two do realise that you can't believe in the cylon god and the Lords of Kobol right?"

Boomer answered right away " I know that and as soon as I saw Aurora and the mark on Starbuck it proved to me that the gods Kara prays to are real and I now think Cavil lied to all of us about there being a cylon god "

Athena gasped " You can't say those things Boomer, anyway how come they both can't be real?"

Boomer looked at Athena hard " You need to figure out what you believe and pick a side, besides we have seen proof of the humans gods and no proof of the cylon god and I have come to the conclusion that Cavil may be setting himself up as the cylon god "

Athena was at a loss for words, but Helo was not "It makes sense if you think about it, plus the fact that humans created the cylons not some god"

Boomer got up after that " I am going to check on Starbuck then do some recon to look for Caprica or Willow while you find out if the resistance want to go with us, Athena keep an eye on Starbuck while I'm gone "

Helo got up " We need to set up a watch tonight so we can all catch some sleep, I don't trust Anders men that much, they tend to talk more than keep watch, Athena I'll take first watch while you and Starbuck get some sleep "

They all left the lunch room after that.

[BREAK]**************************************************************************************************************

Lee had spent his four hour CAP going over all the stuff he had learned in the last two days. He had hope that Boomer would find Kara and Helo and help them get back to the fleet. Aside from all the stuff about Aurora he felt that Kara finding out about her dad would be the most traumatic for her.

He hoped she returned soon so he could hold her in his arms. Lee was also glad Kara had wanted to spend the night with him after the dance and that she wanted them make love, he knew now that she was afraid she might not make it back and she wanted to give them both something to remember.

Lee had thought he was falling in love with Kara and then they made love and as they lay there tangled together he knew for sure that he loved her and when she jumped away on a possible suicide mission he knew without a doubt that he loved her because he felt like he lost a part of himself, he hoped she felt the same way.

CAP was over and Lee had no choice but to land and anymore thoughts would have to wait until he was alone again.

When he opened his canopy Cally was standing at the top of the ladder taking his helmet and handing him his check list " Apollo the commander wants to see you in his office after you shower and change "

Lee finished his check list and handed it to Cally who was waiting on the deck by his ladder " Apollo have you heard anything about Starbuck?"

Lee flinched " No but don't worry Cally she will be back soon "

Cally nodded and walked off toward another viper and Lee headed to his office for a shower and clean clothes wondering what his father was up to.

When he made it to his dads office he was still wondering then he knocked and entered " What did you want to see me about?"

Adama gestured to the table " I just thought we could eat dinner and have a drink before you went to bed "

Lee smiled " This is just what I needed after the day I have had "

After they sat down " Before we eat I wanted to let you know we will be jumping to Kobol early tomorrow afternoon "

Lee didn't say anything, he had to find a way to let Adam know.

Even though Lee was hopeful Kara would return he needed to know what his dad thought since he knew Kara better than him " Dad, do you think Kara will make it back to Kobol?"

Adama chuckled " Yes I do, if it were anybody else I could not be as sure, but Kara is a master at pulling off the impossible "

Lee smiled at that remembering the two times she had gotten him back on board a ship after his viper was damaged " You're right she will come home "

They ate in silence for a while before Adama asked Lee about Mark " Are you and Kara both friends with Mark?"

Lee looked up at his dad " Yeah and even though Kara met him first he and I have become good friends also "

Adama smiled he was glad Lee had somebody besides just him and Kara " I would like to meet him, maybe after Kara gets back and things settle down we can eat in his restaurant one night, I wouldn't mind getting off of Galactica for an evening "

Lee didn't know what to say to that, he just remembered he had never asked his dad what he thought about him and Kara being together other than the few comments he had made at the dance " Yeah maybe, dad you never told me what you thought about Kara and I being together "

Adama sighed " At first I did not think it was wise, but I see how happy the two of you are together and I am happy for you both "

Lee pushed his plate away " Thank you, I know how much Kara needs your approval " Lee stood up " I need to try and get some sleep, thanks for dinner dad I'll see you in CIC in the morning "

Lee went to a phone box and requested a private line to Mark Rivers on Cloud Nine and waited " Hello this is Mark "

Lee knew he had to be quick " Hey Mark, tell Adam we are jumping tomorrow afternoon and he should be on the Aurora earlier in case it gets moved up and before you ask I haven't heard anything about Kara "

Mark sighed " I'm sorry Lee " and they both hung up there was nothing else to say

Adama could only hope Kara's gods were keeping watch over her, he would hate to see what would happen to Lee if she did not make it back.

[BREAK]**************************************************************************************************************

After Helo walked with Athena back to their room he stuck his head into the room next door and saw that Kara was asleep already so he went to find Anders.

He found them in the abandoned gym sitting around several tables playing cards. " Mind if I join you ?" he asked looking at Anders

Anders kicked the chair across from him out " Have a seat "

Someone Helo did not recognize sneered " Did Starbuck send you to spy on us?"

Helo knew he wasn't welcome there but he didn't have much choice " I need to ask you and your team something?"

Anders knew whatever it was it had to be important because Helo didn't even acknowledge the Starbuck comment " What do you want to ask us?"

Helo decided to use military protocol " Captain Thrace wants to know if anybody wants to go back to the fleet with us " Helo let that sink in " We won't be coming back here because we are going to find Earth "

Several people started laughing and one spoke out " Your military is fraking crazy there is no such place "

Helo stood up " You can believe what you want to we are just offering you a chance to get off of this world full of radiation and not much food "

Anders got up and followed Helo outside where he stopped him " Helo I need to know the truth no bullshit okay, do the people in charge of this fleet really believe Earth can be found?"

Helo had to make a quick decision " Yes, as long as we can keep Starbuck safe we will find Earth without her our chances are slim to none, and since you are a leader I hope I can count on you not to mention a word of this to your people or mine otherwise you and I will never step foot on Earth "

Anders studied Helo for a long time and knew he spoke the truth " You have my word and my help to protect Starbuck and I hope one day you can explain it to me, meanwhile I will see if any of my people want to go with you "

Helo reached out and shook his hand " We need to know soon we will be leaving at dawn tomorrow and I want to remind you again when I said tell no one I meant nobody don't even whisper it to yourself "

Anders nodded " Got it, she must be very special "

Helo sighed " That is an understatement "

Anders watched as Helo walked away and he found himself thinking about Starbuck. To him she seemed cocky and rude, but thinking back on the little things he could tell she was carrying a heavy burden. He felt sorry for her if fifty thousand people were depending on her to find them a place to live. He now knew why they seemed so protective of her and he decided he would help her in anyway that he could.

[BREAK]**********************************************************************************************************

Boomer had walked about a mile from the school before she headed to the Delphi air base from another direction making sure she didn't give away the school. Athena had told her that Caprica was at the base earlier and if her hunch was right she would still be there. Boomer was glad she was dressed like the other eights and not in her flight suit.

There were a couple of other eights there because it was their job to work on the heavy raiders. All of a sudden Boomer heard a six getting onto one of the eights about her not fixing something on one of the raiders. Boomer moved in closer until she could make out that the six was Caprica.

Boomer stood there between two raiders until Caprica spotted her and came over after sending the eight to the other end of the hangar. " You are taking a chance by showing up here Boomer "

Boomer gave her a look " No more than Willow did when she showed up in the resistance holdout "

Caprica gave her a funny look " Who is Willow?"

Boomer chuckled " Starbuck apparently got tired of us saying six all the time so she calls her Willow now, have you been able to get a raider?"

Caprica sighed " I am trying, but something is up with Leobon and I have been trying to find out what he is up to, I am afraid he is going to do something stupid, is Starbuck secure?"

Boomer leaned against a raider " She was going to sleep when I left so I told Athena to watch over her, and Helo is trying to find out if the resistance wants to go back to the fleet with us "

Caprica looked around to make sure they were still alone " Then that means you need two raiders and I can only get one without anyone knowing "

Boomer smiled " That's okay Starbuck has plans to steal one before dawn, when you get yours land it about a half of mile east of the school and we will come to you " Boomer looked around " Where is Willow?"

Caprica shrugged " Knowing her she is either at the Temple or keeping watch on Starbuck from a distance, I think she has developed some kind of mystical connection to Starbuck " Caprica suddenly remembered " Leobon has somehow convinced an eight to help him do whatever he is planning on doing "

Boomer almost put her fist through the raider " This is bad Caprica, I need to get back to Starbuck "

Caprica could feel the tension coming off of Boomer " What are you afraid of?"

Boomer calmed herself before answering " This eight can walk right into the high school and get close to Starbuck without anyone knowing it's not me "

Caprica gasped " I bet that is what Leobon has been up to, you get to the school and I'll head back to the base star and see if I can track him if he is not there, and if nothing has gone wrong we will stick to the plan "

[BREAK]**************************************************************************************************************


	27. Chapter 27

A Different Beginning-Chapter 27

THIS IS AN A.U. STORY THAT BEGINS WHEN THE CYLONS DESTROY THE TWELVE COLONIES AND KARA AND LEE MEET FOR THE FIRST TIME.

CHAPTER-27

Lee had tried to sleep, but he kept thinking about Kara. He also hoped that Boomer hadn't changed her mind about helping Kara after she down loaded into another body. Then his thoughts turned to Helo hoping that he was still alive after almost three months. Lee was glad they were finally jumping to Kobol, he only hoped they wouldn't have to wait long before Kara showed up.

Lee must have fell asleep sometime during the night because for some unknown reason he jerked awake and his first thought was something bad was happening to Kara. He got up when he knew he would not get anymore sleep tonight. After getting a glass of water he sat down on his couch trying to convince himself that it was just a dream because there was no way that he would know if something was wrong.

He stayed sitting on the couch remembering everything that had happened since he first met Kara. They had come a long way since that day. He only wanted her to come home he didn't care if she got the arrow or not because without her he wouldn't care if they found Earth or not.

The only thing that gave him hope was the fact that she had been chosen by Aurora and that made it ironic since he never believed in the gods until a couple of days ago and that was still iffy, because it was hard going from not believing to believing in the gods within a couple of days. Lee was also worried about how much of a toll this mission had probably taken on her and he hoped Kara would be able to handle finding out that Aurora had chosen her for some kind of destiny and that her dad was alive. Lee was half afraid she would fall apart after hearing everything, especially right after she returned.

Lee knew sitting there and worrying wasn't going to help and he needed to catch up on his paperwork, so he moved to sit at his desk. The more paperwork he got done meant more time he could spend with Kara when she returned.

Lee saw a large envelope on his desk and had no idea when it had been put there. Lee opened it up and saw the picture that was taken of him and Kara at the dance. Lee smiled, the picture had been taken while he had his arm around Kara as she had laid her head against his shoulder, she was smiling at something he had said, gods she was beautiful. There was a note from the photographer ' I thought you might like to have this' Lee remembered the frame that was in his desk with a picture of a woman who was probably the CAG'S wife or girlfriend before him. Lee took it out and smiled as he put their picture in it and sat it on his desk so he could look at it every time he sat down to work.

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

Boomer took off running as fast as she could back to the school only to arrive to find people scrambling everywhere. She didn't have to ask what was wrong she already knew, she had gotten there to late.

Boomer made her way over to Helo " How long has she been gone and how come no one saw it ?"

Helo hung his head " I'm not real sure, but my best guess would be about an hour, we are getting together search teams now "

Boomer didn't want to lay blame " I thought Athena was keeping an eye on her "

Helo looked at her then " They were both asleep in their rooms, I took first watch so I could talk to Anders "

Anders walked up " I questioned everyone and a couple of my men said they saw her leave with you or Athena, so they didn't think anything about it "

Boomer knew it wasn't that simple, she knew Kara would know enough about her and Athena to know it wasn't either of them " Did they say if she walked away on her own ?"

Anders remembered one of them making a joke " One of my men said she was leaning on you like she was drunk, but they still didn't see cause for alarm "

Helo was starting to freak out " What's going on Boomer?"

Boomer sighed " I just found out that Leobon and an eight have been spending a lot of time together and now I know why, he knew that his eight could walk in here easily and drug Starbuck enough to make it look like she was drunk to take her away from here "

That worried Anders " We need to leave here now before the cylons show up "

Boomer shook her head " It will be okay to stay here, Leobon has gone rouge, he will not contact the others because he knows they would take Starbuck away from him "

Athena had walked up while they were talking " What should we do?"

Boomer looked around making sure they could not be heard before saying anything " Caprica has gone back up to the base star to see if he is there which we highly doubt and if he isn't she is going to scan the area looking for his signal "

Athena understood " You are talking about the trace marker Cavil put into Leobon without his knowledge, because of his obsession with Starbuck"

Helo was confused " Why would he do that and why would he not tell anybody about it?"

Boomer sighed heavily " Although Cavil knows that it goes against the rules of our privacy, he violated it with Leobon, because he expected this very thing to happen and we only know about it because Caprica caught him looking at it two days ago, but she didn't say anything about it because she knows how obsessive and out of control Leobon is "

Anders butted in " Who is Caprica?"

Athena answered him " She is a six model that is staying with the cylons to feed us information and also getting us a raider, she knows we need to get Starbuck back to the fleet "

Anders was very confused " Why are so many cylons willing to help Starbuck?"

Helo felt sorry for Anders because he was half confused himself " Right now there are only four and as for why, I'm not sure, but we need all the help we can get "

Anders caught what Helo said " Who is the fourth one?"

Boomer grinned when Anders asked about the fourth one " Her name is Willow, she is a six model and Caprica said she spent most of her time watching over Starbuck from a distance or at the Temple, so with any luck she was here and saw what happened last night and will be following them "

Helo wasn't ready to trust that " What if she wasn't here?"

Boomer chuckled " Then she is at the Temple and if I know Starbuck, she will try and talk Leobon into taking her there in the hope that Willow will be there "

Helo knew that would be exactly what Starbuck would do " Can't you contact Willow the same way you contacted Athena?"

Boomer lost her smile " No, she cut herself off completely from the cylons for a very good reason, we need to split into groups, sending one to the Temple and one trying to track them, in case we are wrong about the Temple " Boomer thought about Willow " Anders if you come across a six dressed like your team, for gods sake don't shoot her, that will be Willow "

Athena added " We can't let her down load she is more important than any other cylon right now, she has information that would hurt the fleet and put Starbuck in more danger "

Helo snorted " As opposed to the danger she is in now " Helo hung his head before looking back up " We can't go back to the fleet without Starbuck "

Anders still couldn't figure out this mixed up band of people " If we can't find her surely the fleet will let us join them, right?"

Anders waited , but no one disagreed with what Helo had said. He knew she was important to finding Earth, even though he still didn't understand it.

Helo sighed and tried to explain " The fleet thinks I am dead and they know Boomer is dead so even if we find the fleet, without Starbuck on the comms and us in an enemy craft we will more than likely be shot down, and that's not even the worst thing that could happen "

Anders chuckled " What could possibly be worse than that?"

Boomer answered because Helo had turned away " Facing the commander, the pilots and the flight crews, but the hardest person to face would be Apollo, if we show up without her "

Helo turned around again " The effect it would have on the commander and Apollo would be so bad it would end up affecting the Galactica which could eventually effect the whole fleet "

Anders thought they were crazy " There is no way her death could cause all of that, she can't be that special "

Athena wanted to tell him about Aurora, but knew she couldn't " She doesn't have to be special for that to happen, Commander Adama loves her like a daughter and Captain Lee Adama just loves her, and besides the XO they are the highest ranking military on Galactica, so you see her death could cause a chain reaction possibly crippling the fleet "

Anders gave up " Okay I get it, we have to find Starbuck whatever the cost, so we need to get moving "

Anders knew more about tracking so he took six of his men with him to see if they could pick up a trail. Helo had told him Starbuck would try and leave clues so look out for anything.

Boomer, Athena and Helo would make their way to the Temple as fast as they could. Boomer was worried that Cavil was already looking for Leobon he didn't like to let him get to far away from them.

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

Kara slowly woke up and realised someone had an arm wrapped around her waist dragging her through the woods she couldn't even attempt an escape because she couldn't feel her legs. Kara knew running was not an option.

Last night was slowly coming back to her. She had been in a deep sleep, but she heard someone open the door so she opened her eyes half-way and when she saw it was Boomer she went back to sleep. Then she remembered feeling someone behind her and before she could ask what the frak they were doing a hand closed over her mouth and she felt the needle plunge into her neck causing her to blackout.

Whoever had her did not know she was awake and Kara decided to keep it that way while she tried to figure out what was up. Kara did manage to drag her boots more heavily in an attempt to leave marks, knowing someone would try to pick up their trail. Since her head was slumped forward she looked at the legs of the person that had her and finally figured out it was an eight, but it wasn't Boomer or Athena she knew that much. Now she needed to figure out what an eight would want her for since it seemed they weren't in a raider headed to the base star nor were they headed directly into town.

The more Kara thought about it the less sense it made until they stopped and went into a bombed out store that was barley standing and she heard Leobon saying " finally "and Kara thought ' frak not this please '. Kara was getting the feeling back in her legs, but she had no intention of letting them know that.

Leobon came over and grabbed her roughly and made her look at him only to see her sneer at him before she spit on him, so he threw her down onto the floor " You belong to me now and no human or cylon will take you away from me again " he squatted down until he was eye level with her " I am going to break you and tear your world apart until all you will have left is me "

Kara looked him dead in the eye " Frak you, I will kill myself before you ever get that far "

Leobon grabbed her by the collar and lifted her up off the floor and slammed her against the wall then leaned in and whispered in her ear " No you won't, because suicide goes against everything you believe in " then he threw her across the room where she landed against the wall.

Kara was gasping for breath and it felt like she had a broke rib. She wondered what had happened because the last time he took her he didn't act like this. " What the frak are you so pissed about?" she had managed to pull herself up so that she was sitting against the wall.

Leobon walked over and stopped when he was standing in front of her looking down " If you really want to know, even the hybrid is now saying your destiny is not with me " he sneered

Kara couldn't help but laugh, not only did she have four cylons helping her, now she apparently had the hybrid helping her without meaning to do so. The more she thought about it the louder she laughed knowing she was pissing Leobon off " It seems like everybody has given up on you except for your pet eight over there " then she looked at the eight " If I were you I would get as far away from this shithead as fast as I could and go back to your sisters "

Leobon had heard enough out of her because she was partly right, he went over and picked her up and drug her across the room to the door untying her hands. All of a sudden she knew what he was going to do, Kara should have remembered Leobon knew what her mother had done to her, but she didn't have time to react before he grabbed her wrist " I think you need to be taught a lesson, so you will know who has the power here " Kara started struggling to get away from him, but he was to strong, he placed her hand in the door frame and slammed it shut with a force so powerful it broke all of her fingers and her wrist. Kara screamed as the pain exploded throughout her hand, it was so intense she blacked out and crumpled to the floor.

Leobon ordered the eight to tie her to a chair " I need to check in with Cavil before he sends out the centurions to find me, watch her until I get back "

Kara woke up in a daze wondering why she was in so much pain and tied to a chair. Then the memories came rushing back and suddenly she knew that he meant to carry out his threat and to break her. Kara was officially afraid, so she started praying to which ever god would listen she needed help and she needed it now.

Kara looked around and saw the eight standing by a window " How did you find me?" Kara hoped there was not a traitor in the resistance.

The eight smirked " I got lucky and stumbled up on some of the resistance and followed them. Then I saw you were there so I waited and watched until most of the people had gone to sleep and I just walked right into your room as if I were Boomer, it was so easy "

Kara tried not to show any emotion " I guess that means the cylons have stormed the high school? "

Eight shook her head " No they didn't, Leobon doesn't want Cavil or anyone else to know that he has you "

Kara sighed grateful for that at least " Why are you the only one helping Leobon?"

Eight moved away from the window and sat down across from Kara " Leobon said that god told him that you being with him was the only way to save our race and to find Earth, but the others ignored him and didn't believe him. I went to talk to him about it one day and he told me if I helped him then he would make sure god knew I had not failed him as the others have "

Kara looked at her " Leobon is fraking crazy and there is no cylon god, we created you not some god " Kara caught a glimpse of someone looking through the window, a six if she wasn't mistaken, she needed to keep this eight distracted in case it was someone trying to help her.

She looked at the eight again " It should mean something since none of your sisters are here, but you "

Eight crossed her arms " What are you talking about?"

Kara had her hands under the table trying to loosen the rope while she talked, but the pain was unbearable so she was having to do it more slowly then she liked "There are hardly any cylons left that will listen to him anymore including some of the two's " Kara paused for effect mostly "I think the cylons will end up fighting against each other in a religious war soon " Kara knew so such thing, but it could very well happen, Boomer and Willow was proof of that and maybe Athena too.

Eight jumped up " You are lying we would never do that, I am going to check out the area to make sure no one is around "

As she was going out the door Kara yelled " Just remember I warned you " then she slumped back against the chair.

The next thing Kara saw was the six from the window slipping into the room " Who are you?"

Six grinned " I am six from the Temple, I followed you here to try and help you "

Kara looked her over, she didn't look like any six she had seen, she was dressed like the people in the resistance and her hair was cut short and she looked like she had been in the woods for a while judging by the layer of dirt on her " You are the one that can see and talk to Aurora?"

Grinning six bobbed her head up and down " Yes, I am "

Kara grimaced as pain shot through her hand again " Can you get this rope untied " she asked lifting her hands up

Six went over to her and after looking at her hand she gasped " Oh my gods, did Leobon do this?"

Kara nodded and watched as Willow found a knife and cut the rope " By the way I named you Willow, I hope you don't mind, it just makes it easier to keep up with all the copies "

Willow looked at her like she had bestowed her with some kind of honor by giving her a name " I like it, thank you " Willow grinned at her.

They both looked up as they heard a raider approaching " Willow get out of here right now and go find help, the cylons can't find out about you "

Willow stood still " What about you?"

Kara pushed her towards the back door " I can handle Leobon for a little while, go now and find help "

After one more look at Kara, Willow eased out the back door and took off.

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

Anders and his men had finally picked up the trail. At first it was drag marks they were following, but as they moved farther on he started seeing deliberate scuff marks. Starbuck must have been drugged at first, but now it looked like she was awake and trying to leave them clues.

They had already spent two hours on the trail, but he knew the cylons moved fast so there was no way of determining how much farther they had to go. " Let's take a five minute break guys "

After resting they started out again and came to the edge of the forest on the outskirts of town, Anders then had them spread out. He pulled out a pair of binoculars and saw what was probably a building at one time across an open field, while he was watching a woman came out the back door and headed to the treeline on her left. Anders then heard the raider and saw it set down by a treeline not to far from the house.

As he watched he saw Leobon exit the raider and walked over to an eight that Anders hadn't seen leaning against a tree and Leobon seemed to be talking to her.

Anders made a decision to leave half his men there and took the rest with him to find the woman who had run off.

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

By the time Caprica made it back to the base star and the control room she had to wait until everyone left and when she finally pulled up Leobon's tracker it showed him heading to the base star. She quickly shut it down and went to monitor the search patrols hoping to hear something that might help.

After a few minutes Leobon showed up in the control room and noticed Caprica was there " What are you doing here Caprica?" he asked harshly

Caprica turned and gave him a look that conveyed just how much she didn't want to talk to him " I am monitoring search operations, what are you doing here, I thought Cavil had you searching for the rogue eight "

Leobon turned away from her and contacted one of the few cylons left that he could trust " I am, I just needed to check in with Cavil " he was ready to get back to Kara, then the message he had been waiting on showed up " Could you tell him I was here?"

Caprican grabbed his arm and stopped him " Where are you going now Leobon?"

Leobon pulled away from her " Back out to search "

Caprica quickly pulled up Leobon's tracking program and down loaded it onto a portable scanner then ran to her raider.

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

Leobon told the eight to get Starbuck ready for transport and followed her in shortly after.

Kara was standing behind the door holding a piece of the floor board she had pried loose. Kara knew with her wrist broken she would not be able to swing with much force using just one of her hands, besides she was just trying to give Willow time to find help.

After the eight stepped through the door Kara quickly swung aiming for the back of her head, but the eight turned and Kara ended up hitting the side of her face. The hit to the eight's face didn't phase her and she turned and grabbed Starbuck and they quickly ended up fighting. Kara was trying to block most of the hits using her forearm that had the broken hand while grabbing anything she could find with her good hand throwing it at the eight.

Kara knew the pain was getting to her because she had forgotten about the raider that landed until she was grabbed from behind and thrown back onto the floor causing her to loose her breath for a moment. Kara knew for sure that Leobon had became unstable and that he might end up killing her either on purpose or accidentally. She decided to not provoke him any further right now.

The eight pulled her up off the floor and they followed Leobon out to a raider. Kara had no idea how she was going to get out of this. For the moment she decided to think about Lee and all they had been through together. She remembered her promise to return to him and with that thought she started trying to come up with a plan. Leave it to Lee to inspire her to fight to return and he wasn't even here.

[**BREAK]*****************************************************************************************************

Boomer, Athena and Helo had been at the Temple for thirty minutes hoping Willow would show.

They quickly heard someone enter the Temple running and stepped out of the shadows when they saw it was Willow.

Boomer got to her first " Slow down and tell us what is going on?"

Willow was pacing " I found Kara in a building not far from here and I waited until Leobon left and the eight went to look around "

Helo knew there was more to the story " What else happened Willow?"

Willow looked at each of them " Leobon has been beating on her and by the way she held her hand against her chest I think she has a broken rib and " Willow took a deep breath " She said Leobon slammed her hand in the door frame breaking all of her fingers and her wrist " she finished quietly

Helo picked up a pew and threw it across the room " That mother fraker is going to suffer when I get my hands on him " he screamed

Before anybody could ask what happened to make him so mad Anders came running into the Temple and stopped when he saw them.

Athena was trying to calm Helo down, so Boomer asked " What are you doing here Anders?"

Anders pointed at Willow " I saw her come out of a building where Starbuck might be and I was trying to catch her, so I could ask her some questions"

Boomer nodded " This is Willow and she just told us Starbuck was there we are going there now to get her "

Boomer turned to Willow " Did Starbuck send you away?"

Willow nodded " She said the cylons could not find out about me, so she sent me for help "

Athena spoke up now that Helo had calmed down somewhat " Starbuck's right Willow, you are going to stay here while we rescue her "

They made tentative plans and followed Anders to the treeline and stopped just in time to see the raider take off.

Helo cursed " What in the frak are we going to do now?"

Boomer was upset also, but she knew she had to hold them together " We get Ander's men, stop by the Temple and pick up Willow then we are going back to the school to regroup " she paused before adding " I'm almost sure that Caprica will contact us there with a way to trace Leobon "

Athena backed her up " Boomer's right and we all need to try and get some rest even if some of us won't be able to sleep "

Anders also agreed " I agree and I'm sure we all need something to eat "

Anders motioned his men over and they walked toward the Temple.

Helo didn't say anything he just followed them.

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

* * *

( Leave a comment )


	28. Chapter 28

A Different Beginning-Chapter 28

THIS IS AN A.U. STORY THAT BEGINS WHEN THE CYLONS DESTROY THE TWELVE COLONIES AND KARA AND LEE FIRST MEET.

A.N.-I apologize for any mistakes I make during the course of this story.

[BREAK]*****************************************************************************************************************

CHAPTER-28

After two hours of paperwork Lee had caught up with mostly everything except a few minor notes he needed to jot down for himself. He picked the picture up looking at Kara one more time before another long day began " Good morning Kara, I'll see you soon. " Lee knew he should feel silly speaking to a picture of Kara except he didn't. They were jumping to Kobol today and he felt optimist that he would see her soon. He placed the photo back on his desk and decided to get in a quick run before his shift started.

Lee had gotten in the habit of running with Kara in the mornings shortly after their home worlds were destroyed, as they both knew very few people would be up and about this early they chose to run then. As always Lee was thinking about her as he ran and not paying attention to anyone he happened to pass until he heard someone calling out to him " Lee " he stumbled to a stop thinking for a split second that it was Kara until he turned around to find Dee standing there. Frak he thought, now she had ruined the run for him " What do you need Petty Officer?" he asked her, hoping she understood he would only speak to her professionally. He had been lucky that he had not had to see her other than a few quick moments in the CIC since Kara put her in her place at the dance.

Dee was unsure for a moment if she should say anything, but with Starbuck gone now and probably not coming back she went ahead with her reason for stopping him " I was wondering if you wanted to have dinner and maybe talk about Starbuck, I thought you might need someone to talk to?"

Lee knew the way that she had phrased the blatant attempt to once again see if there could be something between them meant that he couldn't be rude as he had intended to be " No thanks Petty Officer I plan on having dinner with Kara, if not today then tomorrow "

Dee was shocked for a moment " You do know that the odds of Captain Thrace returning are not good, right Lee?"

Lee looked at her like he did when one of his pilots knew better than to speak another word and spoke very slowly to make sure she understood that it was time to give up " First of all Petty Officer, Captain Thrace will be coming home and you are a fool if you believe otherwise and secondly you are to refer to me as Captain Adama in the future unless I say otherwise, now I am going to finish my run " Lee turned and started back running hoping she understood now.

Dee stood there with a mean glare on her face, thinking if he did not want her and Starbuck did make it back, she would make sure she caused them to start having problems between them and hopefully turn them against each other, so Starbuck could not have him either. Dee continued her way to the CIC angry at the way Lee had spoken to her, nobody did that and got away with it.

Lee cut his run short after running into Dee, gods he wished she could be transferred to a different ship, but he knew that was not going to happen just because she caused him personal problems.

After a quick shower and getting dressed he went to grab breakfast and saw Racetrack and went to join her at the table she was sitting at.

Racetrack looked up when she heard the chair being pulled back across from her " Morning Apollo "

Lee sat down " I hope you don't mind me sitting here, I just didn't feel like eating alone?"

She shook her head " No that's okay I wanted to talk to you anyway, I am going over to see Mark before we jump to Kobol and wanted to see if you needed me to tell him anything?" Racetrack knew that Apollo and Starbuck were close to Mark and she knew Mark was as worried about Starbuck as Apollo was.

Lee thought a minute " Just let him know that I have hope that Kara will be home soon "

Racetrack let a minute go by before she asked " You miss her a lot don't you?"

Lee smiled " Yeah I do, I feel like I lost a part of myself when she left, but I know she will come back "

Racetrack smiled " I think that's called love Apollo and I think most of the people on Galactica feel like they lost something also, as weird as that probably sounds "

Lee thought about that " I understand it, I feel a personal loss, but as Galactica's lead pilot I also understand the professional loss the deck crew and the pilots probably feel, except I think Dee hopes she never comes back "

Racetrack smirked " Is she still giving you problems?"

Lee sighed and leaned back " Yeah I ran into her during my run and after what I said to her she would be crazy to ever attempt anything else?"

Racetrack felt she should warn him " Apollo you might want to watch out for her especially when Starbuck gets back, I got the impression from just being around her that what she feels for you may be a tad obsessive and that could mean she is capable of doing something bad or worse "

Lee sat forward " Was she like this before I came on board or after?"

She simply answered " After and that's why I am warning you, she is not the same person she used to be, you could almost say she is unstable "

Lee swore " That's fraking great, Kara is going to have a lot of shit to deal with and the last thing she needs is Dee to deal with, I am going to speak to my dad about this, because now that I think about it she seemed different this morning "

Racetrack cocked her head to the side " How do you mean?"

Lee shrugged " I can't really explain it, I guess I thought she would back off after what Kara said to her at the dance, but I don't think she will whether Kara comes back or not "

Racetrack thought she would offer her opinion " I would wait until Starbuck gets back before involving the commander, maybe seeing Starbuck will make her realise she needs to get over you "

Lee sighed " You're probably right, so I guess by you going to see Mark that means you two like each other "

She smiled " Yeah I think we do, but we agreed to take things slowly and get to know each other, he is a really nice guy "

Lee smiled at that " Yeah he is, I guess Kara's matchmaking worked out "

They talked a little more as they finished eating before going their separate ways.

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

Ever since leaving the base star Caprica had been flying around making it look like she was doing a grid search. She really was just trying to figure out if she should go after Leobon and the eight by herself or attempt going to the school for help, but she had no idea where everyone was at the moment.

Caprica was also trying to figure out what would be best for Willow. She knew she would be safer if she went with Starbuck back to the fleet, but with Athena and Boomer both returning to the fleet she knew that Willow going also might be more cylons than even Starbuck could protect. Plus that meant she would be alone with the cylons with no one to help her.

Caprica looked at the portable scan and saw that Leobon was back in flight, but headed away from the base star, she wondered what he was up to. Then she remembered Leobon had only been in the control center for a brief period of time and that is when she figured out he had been waiting for something, a message perhaps, but from who she wondered

As she continued to try and figure out who Leobon would contact she remembered a conservation between him and a Simon model about the farms where they were holding female survivors in the hope of getting them pregnant.

Caprica gasped as the idea came to her. Leobon was so obsessed with Starbuck and her destiny that he would try and get Starbuck pregnant so he would hold more power over her. That was one thing she could not let him do no matter the cost, with that thought in mind her decision was easy, she had to go after Leobon now.

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

As they were headed back to the Temple Boomer looked up and knew that it would be dark soon, they had missed leaving at dawn with Starbuck being taken by Leobon.

Athena walked to the front where Boomer had taken lead leaving Anders and his men taking up rear positions. After catching up to her she waited before voicing her doubt. " Boomer, what if we can't get to Starbuck before Leobon disappears with her or worse?"

Even though she had those same thoughts she had held onto the one fact that gave her hope " Athena that is not going to happen, Aurora did not show herself to us without already knowing that Starbuck would make it back to the fleet, we just have to get a step ahead of Leobon "

Athena nodded " You're right, what will happen to Willow when we leave, Caprica can't cover for her much longer?"

Boomer sighed " I know, I am hoping Starbuck will know what to do about Willow "

After Athena fell back to walk with Helo, Boomer looked beside her and saw that Anders was now walking with her.

Sam Anders was still not comfortable working with the cylons, but he had came to the conclusion that what they were doing was somehow more important than who was a cylon or a human " I guess with Starbuck missing that puts you in charge right now, huh?"

Boomer glanced at him " No not really, if Athena or Helo have an idea about what to do they will speak up, we all know what has to be done"

Sam didn't have to ask, he knew by now what it was " Find Starbuck at any cost " he stated

Boomer nodded " Did your team make a decision about leaving with us or not?"

Anders smirked " We are all ready to get out of here, just let me know if there is something we need to do "

Boomer finally relaxed she had been worried about the resistance ever since Starbuck had been taken " After we get Willow we will decide what to do next and thanks for helping Anders "

Sam nodded and fell back to the rear leaving Boomer alone.

Boomer held up her hand letting everyone know to stop " We are getting close to the Temple so from here on out we need to approach the Temple silently "

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

After Lee finished eating he went to the flight deck to make sure he wasn't needed for anything before heading to the CIC for his shift.

When he entered he didn't even glance at Dee he headed straight to his dad " Morning commander, is the jump to Kobol still on?"

Adama looked at him, he could see the hope all over his son's face " Yes it is Captain, Roslin will be joining us and I just received a request from your friend Mark wanting to join us on the Galactica for the jump also "

Lee turned away from the dradis screen quickly upon hearing that " Really, I didn't know he was going to do that?"

Adama chuckled, he knew Lee didn't know " Yes it seems one of our raptor pilots is there and has offered him a lift, do you think I should allow him to join us even though it is not standard protocol?"

Lee smiled " That would be Racetrack sir and I know it's not usually done, but I wouldn't mind him coming with us if it's okay with you "

Adama decided to allow it the moment Lee had smiled " I suppose we can make an exception this one time, go ahead and give him a call and let him know "

Lee smiled again before placing the call and whispered " Thanks dad " so only Adama could hear him and added " Please don't bring up Aurora to anyone"

Adama spoke softly " I haven't and I won't Lee "

After placing the call Lee took it as a sign that Kara would come home soon and smiled. During his shift an hour later he heard Racetrack ask for clearance to land and turned to look at his dad.

Adama knew what Lee wanted to do, so he found a way to give it to him " Captain I need you to meet Racetracks raptor to greet our guest "

Lee stood at attention " Yes sir " Lee knew his dad had been extra accommodating to him since Kara jumped away, but he wasn't going to complain about it.

What no one noticed was the extra attention Dee had been paying to everything since the call came in for a civilian that Lee knew was being allowed onto the Galactica. Dee was going to make sure she met this person.

[BREAK]*************************************************************************************************************

Mark and Maggie had been in his office talking when the phone rang, after ending the call he smiled at Maggie " That was Lee, the commander is allowing me on the Galactica for the jump to Kobol "

Maggie smiled " It looks like I am going to get to show off my flying skills for you " she added a little more serious " I'm glad you will be there for Apollo in case something goes wrong "

Mark stood up " I am going to change and don't worry I know Kara will be back "

Racetrack hoped so, but she wondered why he seemed so sure " How can you be sure she will make it back?"

He smiled " It is fated and you can't change fate " he leaned down to give her a quick kiss before going.

Racetrack did not have a response to that so she watched him leave the office to change before they left, leaving her to wonder what he meant.

As she sat there waiting on Mark the office door opened with someone already speaking " Mark I am leaving now to " and he stopped talking when he saw someone other than Mark " I'm sorry I thought Mark was in here "

Racetrack had never seen this man " He was here, but he left to change clothes before going with me to Galactica " she paused " I'm Maggie I went to the dance with Mark "

Adam who had paused mid-step relaxed " He told me about you, I am Adam we are partners in the restaurant, did you say he was going to the Galactica?"

Maggie smiled " Yes, usually the commander would not allow it, but it seems he is making an exception "

Adam returned her smile " Good, I am glad he will be there for Lee "

Maggie started to ask something except Mark returned before she could.

Mark almost walked into Adam as he was standing in the door way " What's up Adam?" he asked as he moved past him to stand by Maggie who had stood up when Mark entered.

Adam glanced at Maggie " I was just going to let you know I am leaving and I just found out you are going to be on the Galactica "

Mark nodded, he knew not to mention the Aurora " Yes, it seems the commander is making an exception " he said smiling down at Maggie

Adam turned to leave " I am glad you will be there with Lee, he needs someone who understands what's going on " then he walked away leaving Maggie to wonder what his cryptic last sentence meant.

Mark spoke drawing her out of her thoughts " Are you ready to go?"

Racetrack nodded " Yeah, my shift starts soon "

[BREAK]**************************************************************************************************************

Kara sat silently in the back of the raider listening to Leobon and the eight hoping to hear something that might help her, as her hands were once again tied there wasn't much she could do.

She was trying to think of a plan when she heard eight ask Leobon " Are we taking her to Simon?"

Kara wished now that she had asked Boomer about the other cylons so she would have a clue to who Simon was.

Leobon glanced back at Kara before answering eight " Yes, but we are meeting him somewhere else for the procedure, I only trust this Simon"

Eight thought back to what Starbuck had told her about Leobon having very few cylons that would help him anymore, she was starting to think maybe she should return to her sisters. " Aren't you worried about what Cavil will do when he finds out about your plans?"

Leobon sneered " There is not much he can do after it is already done "

Kara was starting to panic wondering what kind of procedure they were talking about. As she started to ask the gods for help she suddenly thought of something and hoped it would work. She didn't really have much of a plan other than stalling for time and hoping that Boomer remembered projecting the Temple for her. The downside was her having to be nice to Leobon for it to work.

Kara really hated to do this " Leobon " she said softly causing him to look back at her " Can you do me a favor before we get to where we are going?"

Kara asking him for a favor made him curious " Eight take control and put us in a holding pattern "

After eight took control Leobon went to kneel next to Kara " What kind of favor Kara, I won't let you go if that's what you are thinking?"

Kara shook her head " I know you won't, it's just I used to go to the Temple in Delphi when I was young and since we are so close and I am going to be with you now I wanted to see it one last time, please " Kara hoped he bought it otherwise she was fraked.

She could see that he was considering it so she added " If you let me see it I promise not to fight you anymore, I just really need this one last thing from my life before "

Eight spoke before Leobon said anything " You know Leobon it couldn't hurt and it would be worth it not to have to force her anymore "

Kara was shocked, but she chose not to respond especially since she didn't know why the eight would suddenly be willing to help her or she might just have her own agenda.

Leobon reached out to touch her cheek and it took everything Kara had not to jerk away from his touch " We will stop by there Kara, but only for a few minutes and if you have lied to me I will do worse than what I did to you before, understand?"

Kara closed her eyes trying to forget the image of her hand being slammed in the door, then she opened them to see him waiting for her to respond to what he had said " I understand " she paused for effect " Thank you, Leobon " gods she felt like throwing up now, then she remembered the saying, the gods help those who help themselves.

After Leobon moved back to the front Kara took a deep breath and silently prayed that someone would be at the Temple, as she thought that she remembered Willow, oh gods Kara hoped she had not just sealed Willow's fate. Kara could only hope that Willow would know to hide if she was there.

Kara looked up and saw the eight looking back at her like she was searching for something from her, Kara looked away from her trying to look outside to see if there were any markings that she might recognize. Kara knew it would be dark soon and if all else failed at least she would have the darkness if she tried to run.

[BREAK]**************************************************************************************************************

Cavil entered the main chamber on the base star after being gone for almost a full day to find no one monitoring the searches. He put out a call all over the base star for Caprica and Leobon. He waited a full ten minutes before he began cursing and putting out a call for Natalie, Simon and Boomer. As he waited he had a feeling that someone was going against his orders and when he found out who he would threaten to box them if they didn't start doing as he ordered.

Simon entered first " What do you want Cavil I am busy with the breeding process?"

Cavil scowled " I know that, what I don't know is where in the frak are Caprica and Leobon for starters?"

Simon scowled right back " Why don't you ask the sixes and the two's they should know, now I need to get back to my lab, I was in the middle of something "

Cavil knew Simon was right " Fine go back to your lab and send any of the twos, sixes or eights this way if you see them "

Natalie had walked in while Cavil was questioning Simon and she didn't have many answers either. After Simon passed by her she went to meet Cavil at the console " You wanted to see me about something Cavil?"

Cavil turned toward her yelling " Where in the frak is your sister Caprica?"

Natalie shrugged " I heard she was in here earlier monitoring the searches, I guess she went to check something out " she had heard about Caprica being here earlier the rest she made up to cover for her sister, even though she didn't know what Caprica was up to. Natlie knew that Caprica and another six had been acting strange lately, but she wasn't going to tell Cavil about it.

Cavil simmered down at least Caprica seemed to be following orders " Have you seen or heard from Boomer?"

Now that Natalie had no clue about " No "

Cavil was just about to start ranting again then an eight walked in " Simon told me you were looking for me Cavil "

Cavil decided to ask something else " Are all the eights accounted for?"

Eight went to place her hand in the network goo after a minute she pulled it out " There are three missing Boomer, the rouge eight and another eight "

Cavil was getting frustrated " That is just fraking great, the eights and now Leobon are unaccounted for, you two monitor the searches and keep in contact with me "

Natalie had to ask in case she needed to help her sisters " Where are you going Cavil?"

Cavil answered her before storming out " I am going to find out what the frak is going on, somebody is not playing by the rules and it will be consequences "

Natalie looked at the eight " I have a feeling things are going to become bad, fast "

Cavil had landed on the main street in Caprica when he remembered he had a way to track Leobon back on the ship, frak he thought. Cavil knew it would be suspicious if he went back and ordered Natalie out of the control room, for now he would have to look on his own at least for a while.

[BREAK]************************************************************************************************************

Lee had made his way to the hangar bay only to find that several people needed to ask him something or he had to sign something. When he finally finished the paperwork for parts that Cally had handed him Racetrack and Mark were already out of the raptor and on the deck where Racetrack was signing off on her own paperwork.

Lee finally made it to them " Welcome aboard the Galactica Mark " Lee reached out and shook his hand.

Mark ended the handshake " Thanks Lee " Mark glanced at Maggie and whispered to Lee " I'm not too sure I like flying in a raptor though "

Lee laughed " You had better not let Racetrack here you say that "

Mark nodded " I know, are you still working?"

Lee shrugged " Officially I am, but the commander sent me down here to greet you as we do all civilians who board which isn't very often, so technically you could say I am still working "

Racetrack walked up " Hey Captain I am handing Mark off to you, as you know I have a two hour CAP before we jump "

Lee felt bad " Sorry Racetrack it's to late for me to change the roster "

Racetrack laughed " I know that Apollo, besides I will be off shift after we jump "

Skulls walked by " Come on Track we gotta go "

Racetrack turned to go " Keep him out of harms way Apollo and by that I mean Dee "

Lee laughed " Since I plan on doing the same it should be easy, hopefully "

After Maggie lifted off Mark asked " Who is Dee?"

Lee wasn't sure how to explain it " Someone that hates Kara "

Mark thought a minute " Is she the one from the dance?"

Lee nodded " Yeah that was her, let's go to my office "

After they were settled in Lee's office, Lee took the bottle of ambrosia he tried to keep hidden and poured them each a shot.

Mark saw the picture and picked it up " I didn't know you two had this taken at the dance "

Lee smiled " I had forgotten about it until it showed up in my office, the photographer seemed to know I needed it "

Mark put it down " Do you think she will be back today?"

Lee sighed " If not today then tomorrow " Lee wondered if he should tell Mark about his dream.

Mark could tell Lee was thinking about something " A cubit for your thoughts?"

Lee took another shot " I was asleep I guess, because I jerked and woke up and I had this bad feeling that Kara was being hurt and after wards I couldn't get back to sleep, it felt so real "

Mark had been worried about Kara a lot himself, but he wasn't going to tell Lee that he was " It was probably just your subconscious "

Lee nodded " Yeah that is what I keep telling myself, anyway is Adam on the Aurora?"

Mark poured himself another shot " Yes and he met Maggie, are you supposed to be drinking on duty?"

Lee chuckled " No, that is usually Starbucks thing, so I am making an exception this one time, in honor of her "

Mark smiled " I agree " Mark paused before adding " She will be back Lee, we just have to wait "

Lee simply nodded as he was looking at Kara in the photo again.

[BREAK ]

Willow had been pacing ever since Boomer and the others had left to go rescue Kara. She had a bad feeling and she wasn't sure if she should try to go after them or stay like Athena had told her.

After more pacing and worrying she went and sat on the prayer rug wondering how one prayed to the gods. She wasn't sure of the rules about how often she could project hoping to talk to Aurora. She knew she shouldn't do it just to make herself feel better, but what if Kara needed something. After a while she felt a presence that she had come to learn was Aurora.

Willow sat very still and projected the Temple as it had been before the worlds were nuked. As she sat there Aurora appeared " Little one, it is now time for you to hide, all things will becoming together soon, and this is not your time to be seen " Willow let the projection go.

As soon as she let go she jumped up looking for the best place to hide worried about what was going to happen. She spotted the broken pew, it had landed almost against the back wall upright creating a space she could stand up in, but remain out of view. After getting in place she started praying silently to the gods in the only way she knew how by asking for what she wanted " Gods please keep Kara and her protectors safe from evil " Willow hoped that was okay because she kept silently repeating it over and over, while waiting.

[BREAK]*************************************************************************************************************

A.N.-I hope I got everything in the right order for the next chapter, which I am unofficially naming as " Showdown At The Temple "

* * *

( Leave a comment )


	29. Chapter 29

A Different Beginning-Chapter 29

THIS IS AN A.U. STORY THAT BEGINS WHEN THE WORLDS ARE DESTROYED AND KARA AND LEE MEET FOR THE FIRST TIME.

A.N.-ALL MISTAKES ARE MINE BUT I WILL TRY NOT TO MAKE VERY MANY.

[BREAK]*****************************************************************************************************************

CHAPTER-29

Just as Caprica had decided to go after Leobon on her own she noticed that he had changed course. He was now headed back toward Delphi making Caprica wonder what he was up to now. She made sure to stay far enough away that he wouldn't notice her, she was following him by his trace marker anyway. When he started descending she finally realised he was going to land close to the Temple, but why.

Caprica decided to land a little farther away until she knew what was happening. As she left her raider and started making her way to the Temple she asked herself again, why. Then it came to her, Starbuck must have somehow convinced Leobon to take her to the Temple. Caprica knew that Starbuck was counting on someone to figure out she would go there if she could.

Caprica decided to to get close enough to help Starbuck if she needed to, but not so close that she could pull back if someone else showed up. She suddenly remembered Willow, she hoped Willow wasn't in there, but somehow she knew that is exactly where she would be. This situation took on a whole new meaning now, especially if Leobon saw Willow.

An idea suddenly came to Caprica, she didn't know very much about the maintenance of a raider, but after watching the eights at the air field the other night she could disable Leobon's raider. It wasn't much, but it would keep them grounded, after one more glance at the Temple she went to the raider and disabled it.

On her way back to the Temple she suddenly found herself surrounded by people who were pointing guns at her, so she did the only thing she could, she stood still and slowly raised her hands above her head and spoke " My name is Caprica, I came to help Starbuck "

Caprica could feel some of the tension drop and heard someone walking up to her from behind, then she heard Boomer " Put your guns down she is with us "

All of a sudden it seemed like everyone had moved in close around her and she saw Athena, Boomer, Helo and she guessed the resistance.

Boomer reached for Caprica's hand she knew she was probably spooked " Why are you here Caprica?"

Caprica had her own questions, but now was not the time " I followed Leobon and somehow Starbuck must have convinced him to stop by the Temple and they are inside the Temple right now "

Athena spoke up " We need a plan "

Helo didn't agree " No we don't, there are a whole lot of us and just two of them, so I say let's just go in and get Kara out right now " the resistance of course agreed with him.

Boomer held up her hand to stop the chattering " We can't show our hand Helo, we have to make sure that Caprica is not compromised with the cylons otherwise she can't help us down the road "

Athena butted in before Boomer could finish and pulled Caprica and Boomer away from the others " We have been worried about the cylons gaining information if we download, so what happens when Caprica downloads?"

Caprica found Athena and Boomer both looking at her, she sighed she was going to have to tell them " When I was working with Gaius on the computer network programming I made a chip, I guess you could say a filter of sorts that allows me to control what memories get downloaded"

Athena snorted " Well wasn't that convenient, do the other sixes know?"

Caprica shook her head " No, I wish I could do the same for Willow because what she knows is more important to protect "

Boomer decided to get back on topic " Okay that solves that problem " she slowly moved them back to the others " As I was saying Helo, Caprica's identity has to be protected, but Willow is in there along with Starbuck, so yes we need a plan, anybody got any ideas?"

Helo cursed " Starbuck is the one that comes up with the crazy ass plans, but I do know whatever we plan she will adapt to it very quickly "

Caprica spoke up " I disabled Leobon's raider and I can buy us some time and access the situation by going in and confronting Leobon, plus he already thinks I want to kill Starbuck, so he won't be expecting anything else "

Athena felt she needed to make a point " We do have one thing in our favor or should I say two things the raiders are both here, now we just have to make sure Leobon and the other eight doesn't die and download before we get away "

Boomer picked it up from there " After Caprica goes in we will be able to move closer because Leobon loves to hear himself talk, after they start arguing we will move inside, Caprica you make sure you protect Willow and Anders I want you and two of your men to keep up with the eight while Helo, Athena and myself focus on Leobon and Starbuck "

Anders nodded, he was more than glad for them to take the lead on this, he figured the cylons would know more about fighting each other, plus he didn't want to plan it in case it went wrong and Starbuck or Willow died then he would probably be next.

Caprica needed to make them aware of something " After all of this is over and hopefully things go our way we need to figure out what to do about Willow, I don't think she wants to go back to the base star plus it would be a huge risk to Starbuck if she did "

Boomer sighed " I know and that is why I am going to leave that decision up to Starbuck, I'm sure she can figure something out "

Athena chuckled making everyone turn to look at her " I'm sorry I was just imagining Starbuck returning to the fleet with an undead Helo, three cylons and the Caprican Buccaneers, her own personal army "

They all laughed at that image and Helo added " Can you imagine the face Commander Adama will make or how Colonel Tigh will react?"

Boomer smiled " Colonel Tigh would air lock everyone of us starting with Starbuck "

Helo spoke up after the laughter died down " Any questions before we run over the plan one more time?"

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

Kara stayed tensed the whole time until they finally landed near the Temple. She made sure to move slowly still trying to buy some one time. Kara had to wait until the eight left the raider before she could and then Leobon followed behind her.

Eight opened the door and checked inside before letting Kara in. As she walked in she slowly glanced around looking for Willow. As she started toward the prayer rug Leobon grabbed her arm " Where are you going Kara?"

Kara gave him a blank look " I need to kneel on the prayer rug since this will be my last time to do so, I want to do it right "

Leobon let go " You have five minutes Kara "

Eight stayed by the door not understanding Kara's religion, but she also didn't want to intrude on it. She saw that even Leobon moved off to the right to give her space.

Kara kneeled and bowed her head while holding her tied hands to her chest before she began praying silently so the cylons could not hear her.

Even though Kara used the Temple as an excuse to try and get away she also intended on praying, so she shut out the fact that they were watching her and this time she prayed to Aurora.

After she finished her prayers she tried to look around for Willow, knowing that if she was here she would be hiding. Kara finally stood up and turned to face the eight and out of the corner of her eye she saw Willow behind a pew at the back wall of the Temple to her left.

[BREAK]*************************************************************************************************************

Kara was trying to come up with a plan when Caprica slammed the door of the Temple open heading straight for Leobon yelling at him " What in the frak are you doing Leobon, your orders were to find the rouge eight not Starbuck "

Leobon never moved " I don't give a frak what Cavil ordered my only concern was finding Kara " he said in a raised voice

Caprica didn't see Willow so she moved toward Starbuck before Leobon could. As she reached her she grabbed Starbuck and held her against her facing Leobon and used her as a shield " I am taking Starbuck back to the base star before Cavil decides to box both of us "

Leobon took three steps toward them " No you're not, I will kill you before I let you do that "

Caprica took two steps back knowing that the others would be coming in any second " If you take another step I will kill her Leobon , after all Cavil said dead or alive, it's your choice "

Leobon turned away for a moment thinking of a way to get to Kara away from Caprica .

As he was turned Caprica whispered to Starbuck " We have help coming in at any moment have you seen Willow?"

Kara turned away from the eight " Behind the pew " she wispered

As soon as Leobon turned around Athena, Boomer and Helo had guns pointed at him and were closing in, as three other people had his eight already under control. As soon as they had tied Leobons hands he looked around and saw that Caprica still had Kara in a choke hold.

Boomer then turned to Caprica " You might as well let Starbuck go Caprica we have you surrounded "

Caprica suddenly put her gun against Starbuck's temple " She is my ticket out of here or else I will kill her right now "

Leobon screamed " No Caprica, she can't die she is the only one who knows how to find Earth "

[BREAK]**************************************************************************************************************

Helo walked over to Boomer " I am taking Leobon outside we have some unfinished business "

Boomer knew that wasn't part of the plan, but Helo seemed determined " Fine just remember not to kill him "

Helo turned to Athena " You watch the eight I need Sam and one of his men to come with me "

Athena nodded and went to the eight who still had one resistance member with her.

Boomer waited until Helo left " Athena you two take eight outside away from Helo, I will deal with Caprica "

As soon as the Temple was clear Caprica let go of Starbuck who stumbled and was rubbing her throat while giving Caprica a frak you look.

Caprica shrugged " Sorry I had to make sure Leobon bought it "

Kara finally looked at where Willow was hiding " You can come out now Willow " then she looked at Boomer " So what's the plan?"

Boomer and Caprica filled Starbuck in on their plan.

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

Helo, Sam and Ten Point took Leobon behind the Temple where they stopped when Helo said " This is good enough "

As Sam and Ten Point held onto him Helo stood almost nose to nose with him " You crossed the wrong line when you broke Kara's hand so I am going to return the favor " Helo looked at Sam " Hold his hand flat against the stone wall "

Leobon knew then what Helo planned on doing so he started struggling, but in the end they had his hand held in place.

Helo raised his rifle up and sneered at Leobon right before he used the butt of his gun to break Leobon's hand and pulled back before he smashed it two more times.

Sam wasn't sure what the cylon had done to Kara, but he wasn't prepared for what Helo had done.

Helo waited for Leobon to catch his breath before saying " Now the other one "

Sam and Ten Point both thought he had finished " Are you sure you want to do that?" Sam asked

Helo looked at Sam with a blank face " Yes I am sure, because nothing I do to him will ever be enough compared to what he did to Kara, now do as I asked "

Sam and Ten Point looked at each other before doing as Helo asked leaving Sam wondering what all Leobon had done to Kara.

Leobon's face paled, but he looked right at Helo " When I resurrect I will come after your eight and your baby and kill them while you watch then I will kill you "

Helo smiled " You just made this worse than what I was planning on doing "

After Helo finished smashing his other hand until it broke in several places he turned to Sam " Tie his hands back together as tight as you can."

As they were tying his hands Leobon looked at Helo " Tell Kara I will find her again and she will be mine even if I have to beat it into her "

Helo sneered " If you ever touch her again it won't be me you have to worry about " Helo paused " It will be Apollo and he will hunt you to the end of the galaxy, then you will know true pain "

When they finished Helo stood him up and began using his face as a punching bag and didn't stop until Sam grabbed his arm " That's enough Helo, we are not supposed to kill him" he whispered so Leobon couldn't here.

Helo stopped and Leobon fell to the ground.

[BREAK]**************************************************************************************************************

After Boomer and Caprica finished filling Kara in on everything she asked Boomer to bring Athena in so they could finish planning. Boomer went out to get Athena and after they made sure the eight was secure they left him with Ander's man before heading back in.

Kara filled Athena in " We will be leaving soon in the two heavy raiders, Caprica will explain how she sabotaged Leobon's raider " Kara paused for a minute " Caprica has already uploaded the fleets position in her raider so you will have to input it into Leobons "

They were all sitting on the prayer rug planning their escape when Willow reached over and touched Kara's broken hand " How are you going to fix your hand Kara?"

Kara was still in pain, but she didn't have time to think about it " When I get back to the fleet Doc Cottle will have to re-break it then set all the bones, I will manage until then "

Caprica looked around the circle of women " Starbuck what are we going to do about Willow, she doesn't want to be with the cylons anymore and it would be dangerous for the fleet and you if she ever dies and downloads, she knows too much? "

Kara sighed " I know, I just don't know how I can explain all of this to the commander with me already bringing back Helo, Athena and Boomer, not to mention the Caprican Buccaneers "

Boomer had a thought " I think Apollo will be able to vouch for me and Athena, but even if we could get Willow on board where would we put her?"

Kara smiled " That much I have figured out " they all looked at her waiting " I think the best place to put her is on the Aurora "

Boomer had been watching Caprica " That will leave you all by yourself with the cylons Caprica, is there any of your sisters you could trust?"

Caprica had been thinking the same thing " I think Natalie can be trusted, but I will make sure before I say anything, what about the eight outside?"

Athena looked up " I tried to hint around about things and I told her to keep a close eye on Cavil because he might be setting himself up as the cylon god and that there may not even be one since none of us have seen him "

Kara stood up " I am going to have a little chat with her while you all figure out how to finish things up here before we leave "

Caprica started listing things " We can't kill Leobon or the eight so we just leave them here for Cavil to find and one of you are going to have to kill me and I can tell Cavil where they are when I resurrect "

Boomer shook her head " It will look bad if one of us kill you "

Caprica laughed " I have the filter remember "

Athena spoke up " Is there any chance that Cavil won't know a six is missing?"

Caprica shrugged " He probably won't, but the other sixes might notice, if they do I will come up with something and Boomer I think it might be best if I only communicated with you "

Boomer agreed " Now we just have to hope Starbuck can get us onto the Galactica "

[BREAK]**************************************************************************************************************

As Kara was walking outside she had no idea how to convince this eight, but if she could then that would be one more cylon on their side. Kara had been thinking a lot about how to start a religious war between the cylons even though she knew it was wrong to use religion like that. Except the more she thought about it she knew that she was only trying to discredit the false cylon god and for right now that was the only thing she could come up with.

When she reached the eight and her guard she dismissed him and sat down beside the eight. " You should really think about what Athena told you eight "

The eight looked at her " Why?"

Kara thought a minute before answering " I know what it is like to believe in something without proof, but about a week ago I was given proof that my gods do exist " Kara paused before continuing " Have you ever seen proof of the cylon god or has Cavil been the one telling all of you about this god?"

Eight thought about it " Cavil has always been the one to tell us, but that doesn't mean there isn't one "

Kara sighed " Has any of the other cylons seen any kind of proof, anything at all?"

Eight looked away " No "

Kara stood up " Then keep your eyes and ears open and trust yourself " Kara started to walk away " Boomer and Athena believe there is no cylon god, but it took them awhile and they have also rejected the cylon way, because they now believe killing billions of people is not something any god would have wanted "

When Starbuck walked away she thought about the things Athena and Starbuck told her. What was most interesting was the fact that two of her sisters believed there was not a cylon god. One thing eight had decided on was to keep her distance from Leobon after everything that had happened.

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

As Kara walked away she motioned the man back to stay with the eight. Kara was about six feet away from the Temple when she heard something and went to check it out.

As she turned the corner at the back of the temple she saw Helo, Sam and Ten Point standing over Leobon who was curled up into a ball " Helo what the frak is going on?"

Helo looked her straight in the eyes " Something that needed to be done, payback "

Kara looked from Helo back to Leobon taking in all of his injuries " You better pray he isn't dead, stay here we will be leaving soon and no more beating on that piece of shit "

Helo snorted " I was just doing what I knew Apollo would want me to "

Kara smirked " Actually he would have done much more to him, thank you Helo "

They all three watched her walk away. Sam looked at Helo " Was that true what you told Leobon about Apollo?"

Helo figured since they were waiting he would answer " I met Apollo for a brief moment aboard the Galactica before the cylons struck, but it was long enough to know Starbuck had him rattled. They had a fight on the flight deck after they did the fly over during the ceremony, Starbuck threw the first punch and Apollo punched her right back. Then Kara told me they were together when I found her here " Helo paused " The Adamas are possessive when it comes to her "

Sam nodded " Who are the Adamas?"

Helo thought Sam knew " Commander Adama is head of the military and treats Starbuck like his daughter and Apollo is his son Captain Lee Adama who is the CAG and Starbucks wing man and boss "

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

Kara walked back into the Temple " We need to tie the eight up and kill Caprica and get the frak away from this planet "

Caprica knew she didn't mean it to sound harsh, she was just stating the facts " What about Leobon?"

Kara laughed quietly " He is not dead, but he won't be walking anytime soon, so lets wrap this up. " Kara paused then added " Boomer I want Willow flying with us and Athena with Helo in the other raider and the rest of the resistance can divide themselves between the two raiders "

Athena asked " Who is going to kill Caprica?"

Kara saw they were all looking at her " Fine, I'll do it after the rest of you get outside "

Kara waited while they all told her bye and Willow hugged her " Thank you for believing and helping me sister "

Kara had her pistol out " Thanks for your help and just so you know I will not enjoy doing this "

Caprica nodded " It's okay, just promise me you will look out for Willow "

Kara nodded and fired shooting Caprica between her eyes, then watched as she fell onto the prayer rug. Kara hated doing it in the Temple, but she didn't need anyone watching her.

Kara quickly said a prayer then walked outside " Okay people let's get out of here now "

Helo grabbed her arm " Who fired a gun?"

Kara looked away from him " I had to take care of Caprica "

They all took off to get into the raiders and lifted off in the dead of night popping up near the fleet where it was daytime.

[BREAK]**************************************************************************************************************

Lee and Mark had been in Lee's office for about an hour talking and drinking. " Let's take a walk and I'll show you where we sleep and eat then we can go to the observation room and wait for the jump "

Mark got up " Sounds good to me I need to walk around after sitting for a while "

Lee took him by the mess hall first and there was only a few people there, next they went to the rec room " This is were we unwind and drink and play cards "

Next Lee showed him the bunk room " My gods Lee this looks pretty cramped, how do you ever get any sleep?"

Lee shrugged " We are pilots, you get used to it and learn to sleep through most anything "

They finally ended up at the observation deck " CAP should be landing any minute then we will jump to Kobol "

Lee sat down first while Mark stood looking outside the window " You think Kara will be back today "

Lee smiled " Yeah I do "

Mark sat down just as the countdown began.

They both got up and looked at the planet Kobol after the jump.

Lee sighed " I will take you back to Racetrack I need to go to the CIC "

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

After an hour of standing in the CIC alarms started blaring and Adama started shouting out orders.

Gaeta spoke without looking away from the monitors " It looks like two heavy raiders "

Lee looked at his dad " Do you think it is Kara?"

Before Adama could answer they heard " Galactica this is Starbuck, for fraks sake don't shoot "

Adama looked at his son who was smiling from ear to ear, knowing he probably looked the same.

The commander spoke up " You have a go for landing Starbuck "

Starbuck hated what she had to do " I'm sorry sir, I can't do that without certain assurances "

Adama didn't know how to respond to that and looking at Lee he could see he didn't either. " Starbuck I am not in the mood to play games "

Starbuck sat up straight and spoke slowly " Neither am I Commander, let me speak to Captain Adama on a secure channel, please sir "

Adama settled down he knew Kara was being cautious about something or somebody " Go ahead Captain "

Lee grabbed the head set and put it on " Kara are you okay?"

Kara looked at her hand " Mostly, listen Lee the person you sent to help me is piloting this raider and I have another eight with me that has switched to our side and is also pregnant with Helo's baby and I have Helo "

Lee knew his mouth was hanging open " Is there anything else Kara?"

Kara sighed " I have most of the Caprican buccaneers also, but Lee I have a six model that is very important to me, I need her because I found out some things about myself you are not going to believe, so just trust me "

Lee sighed if only she knew " What do you need me to do Kara?"

Kara grinned " Tell the commander what I told you in private I need these cylons protected and the less people that see them the better it will be especially for Willow my six, we will hold this pattern until you get back to me, and Lee I missed you so hurry up "

Lee chuckled as he took the head set off " Commander I need to speak to you in private "

In the situation room Lee told his dad everything Kara had said and waited as his dad took it all in.

After another minute passed Lee broke the silence " We need everyone to leave the hangar deck especially the chief, I told you Boomer might come back, but Kara is more concerned about the six model I think she has something to do with Aurora and Kara doesn't want her seen by anyone "

Adama looked at Lee " You know we can't clear everyone out "

Lee had a thought " What if we have Corporal Venner and Mathis with us I think Kara would agree to that "

Adama got up " I hope so because she is not leaving us much choice "

Lee stood also " Dad you know Kara would not ask this without a damn good reason "

Adama nodded " I know which is why I am going to allow it "

Lee picked the head set up " Kara, the deck will be clear in ten minutes except for the commander, Mathis, Venner and myself, that is all the leeway he is giving you "

Kara chuckled " I'll take it and you had better be the first person I see "

[BREAK]**************************************************************************************************************

The pilots and deck crew had no idea what was happening they had never been asked to clear the hangar bay before. Even though the chief was in the dark like everyone else he started moving people out of the bay. " Hurry it up, the commanders wants everyone out and the bay sealed "

Racetrack was off shift, but when the alarms went off she rushed to the hangar bay, she stopped once she reached the top of the bay trying to see what was happening.

Mark had followed her and stopped when she did " What is happening Maggie?"

She looked over at him " I don't know Mark, they seem to be shutting the hangar bay down and that has never happened before "

Mark saw Lee " Hey look Maggie Lee is down there with two marines and the commander "

After the bottom level had been shut off Lee looked up and saw Mark and Racetrack " Racetrack make sure no one comes onto that deck and that goes for you to "

Racetrack grabbed Mark's arm " Come on we have to leave "

Mark went along with her " Do you think it is Kara?"

She shook her head " No, they wouldn't close the bay off if it was her, maybe they are meeting with some cylons "

Maggie took Mark with her to the pilots briefing room knowing that would be where most of them would go.

[BREAK]**************************************************************************************************************

Lee and Adama stood there waiting with Venner and Mathis close by waiting for the raiders to land.

Adama was rocking front to back " She better have a fraking good reason for all of this "

Lee was calm " She does "

Adama stopped rocking " How can you be so sure?"

Lee laughed " Cause she is Starbuck and Aurora's chosen one, she is controlling the situation, a fact you will be glad she did later "

Before Adama could respond the raiders were landing, and he just remembered Roslin was waiting for him in his office, frak he hoped Starbuck could contain this situation fast.

The raiders opened up and people began walking out of them, but Lee didn't see Kara or Helo.

Kara was telling Boomer to hang back and she had Willow hide in the back corner before she walked out.

Kara waited until she saw Lee and Adama before walking their way then Lee saw her and they both kinda trotted to close the distance between them.

Lee grabbed her and pulled her off her feet as she wrapped her arms around him, then they both leaned back and looked at each other before Lee leaned close and kissed her, she kissed him back for a second before pulling back " I missed you so much Lee "

Lee hugged her tight one more time and whispered " I missed you too"

Then they heard Adama clear his throat so they pulled apart and stepped back. Then Adama pulled her into a hug then pulled back to look at her " I hope you can contain this fast because Roslin is in my office "

Kara hands flew to her mouth " Oh my gods "

Adama spoke up " Lee filled me in on most of it, so what is the most important thing you need to get done "

Kara looked from Lee to Adama wondering how much they knew " I need to get someone to the Aurora right now, trust me it is very important to finding Earth, but no one can know about her yet "

Lee looked at his dad " I can do that Eloshi told me to come anytime I wanted to "

Adama nodded " Okay that's settled what else Kara?"

Kara stuttered " Sir it. its a cylon that I want on the Aurora "

Lee grabbed her hand " We know Kara and we know about you and Aurora "

Kara shut her eyes " Oh my gods, how and who else knows that?"

Lee still had her hand " Mark, dad and me, so tell us what you need done "

Kara was standing there on the verge of tears " I'm sorry Lee I didn't know until a few days ago and I was afraid to come back here and tell you "

Lee squeezed her hand " It's okay Kara, now what else, we have to hurry "

Kara straightened up " Boomer and Athena saved me and Helo on Caprica and they now believe in our gods, not the cylon god and I need them protected " Kara paused to catch her breath " There is more, but for now believe me when I say we have a mole in with the cylons who will feed us info through Boomer and I need Boomer to watch my back " she paused once more " I think I am in danger from more than just the cylons "

Lee pulled her hand " Take me to Willow and I will get her onto the Aurora "

Adama stopped them " I will put Athena, Boomer and Helo in life station until you finish with Lee and put the resistance in a conference room "

Kara looked at Adama " Thank you sir and I promise I have good reasons for everything I have done and Anders from the resistance has the Arrow of Apollo "

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

Kara took Lee to the raider and had him step inside " Boomer go get Athena and Helo, the commander is going to place you all in life station while I get Willow taken care of "

Boomer went over to talk to Lee while Kara got Willow.

Lee stuck his hand out " Thank you Boomer for bringing her back to me "

Boomer had to ask " Does the chief know about me?"

Lee shook his head " No, I couldn't tell him that on top of telling him you had been killed, I'm sorry"

Boomer looked back before she left " I'll see you later Starbuck, bye Willow "

Willow was standing there looking at Lee like she was judging him " Kara you might want to introduce us "

Kara walked over to them " Willow this is Lee, he is going to take you to the Aurora where you will be safe "

Willow stepped back " I need to be with you Kara in case " she trailed off looking at Lee " well you know why "

Kara stood in front of her " Willow you will not be safe with me and you know I need you to much for something to happen to you, so please go with Lee and I will come over tomorrow to see you, okay?" she still didn't move " Willow you can trust Lee I trust him with my life and you can to"

Lee had been watching the two of them, he noticed that although Willow was a woman she seemed more child like and she seemed to adore Kara and that's the other thing he noticed she called her Kara when everyone else called her Starbuck. Lee had never seen Kara have that much patience for anyone before.

Lee stopped musing and held out his hand " Hello Willow, we have to hurry up before we cause Kara to get in trouble " he had a feeling that she would do anything to keep Kara from getting in trouble

Kara swung around to look at Lee about to say something to him when Willow took his hand " Then we better go, bye Kara "

Kara was standing there with her mouth hung open then Lee turned and winked at her " Hurry up and finish Kara we have lost time to make up for when I get back"

Kara had her hand wrapped hoping Lee wouldn't notice it before she could get to Cottle. As soon as he was out of sight she took off for life station.

{BREAK]*************************************************************************************************************


	30. Chapter 30

A Different Beginning-Chapter 30

THIS STORY BEGINS WHEN THE COLONIES ARE DESTROYED.  
KARA AND LEE MEET FOR THE FIRST TIME  
THIS IS MOSTLY AN A.U. STORY.

I am writing this solo, so I apologize for any mistakes.

[BREAK]****************************************************************************************************************

CHAPTER-30

After Kara went with Lee, the commander had Venner and Mathis take Helo and the two cylons to life station with orders to keep them out of sight.

He then went to the pilots room with the resistance right behind him and called Racetrack into the hallway " I need you to take these people Kara brought back to conference room B and stay with them until I can replace you "

Racetrack saluted " Yes sir " after an hour had passed Adama sent a marine to take her place.

With that taken care of he went back to the bay and saw Kara heading out " Kara wait I need to ask you something "

Kara walked over to him " What is it commander?"

Adama looked at her hand " What happened to your hand Kara?"

Kara looked away then back " It's broken, I was on my way to see Doc about it "

Adama nodded " I am going to open the bay back up and I need to see you, Helo, Athena and Boomer for a meeting in conference room A as soon as possible, I think we all have learned a few things this past week "

Kara lowered her head " Yes sir, I will let them know about the meeting, if there is nothing else I really need to see Doc about my hand "

Adama patted her on the shoulder " Go ahead Kara "

[BREAK]**************************************************************************************************************

Lee and Willow were in a raptor headed for the Aurora.

He had sat her up front with him hoping she would answer some questions " Willow can you tell me what happened to Kara's hand?"

Willow looked over at him remembering Kara saying he could be trusted " Leobon had kidnapped Kara and taken her to a place where he thought they wouldn't be found " She paused " I saw when the eight took her from the school and followed them and waited until Leobon had left and the eight was outside before I slipped in, it was the first time I met Kara and she was tied up and hurt "

Lee eyes snapped toward her " Hurt how Willow?"

Willow sighed " A few broken ribs and you could tell he had roughed her up her, but the worst thing was her hand, he slammed it in the door breaking her fingers and wrist "

Lee gasped thinking about Kara's mother doing the same thing and that Leobon knew all about it, he was pissed off and hoped he would run into that Leobon someday " I am going to set that mother fraker on fire and watch him burn if I ever see him again, what happened next?"

Willow stared straight ahead after Lee's outburst " I untied her hands and then we heard a raider, Kara made me leave so Leobon would not see me and sent me to find help, I didn't want to leave her, but we both knew I could not take the chance on getting caught "

That was something else Lee did not understand " Why are you so important to Kara?"

Willow looked at Lee for a long time " Do you know about Aurora?"

Lee nodded " Yes I do, but I haven't had a chance to tell Kara about it,I know she has the mark of Aurora "

Willow looked at him and smiled, she was glad he knew because Boomer had mentioned that Kara was afraid to tell Lee " I am her connection to Aurora and since the gods have this rule where no chosen one can be seen by the god that chooses them Aurora chose to show herself to me "

Lee was confused " If Kara is supposed to lead the fleet to a place they can call home why would Aurora choose a cylon to help her?"

Willow looked away from him " She wouldn't have, but I entered an abandoned Temple and sat on the prayer rug, it made me feel peaceful, so I projected the Temple the way it used to look and Aurora showed up and talked to me "

Lee had completely stopped the raptor wanting to know more " Willow I believe Aurora led you there on purpose, what did she say?"

This time she looked right at him " She said I needed to protect Kara because her destiny was not about the cylons and if I did then I could live on the planet Kara chooses and live like a human " she paused knowing he didn't understand " By that she meant no more killing or downloading and she said that any cylon who tried to hurt Kara would never be allowed to step foot on the new planet and I think she meant humans also"

Well now Lee understood why Kara had been so cautious " When we board the Aurora you need to stay close to me while I find Eloshi or another priestess to let them know about you "

Lee had called ahead and Eloshi was going to meet them at the docking bay.

After landing and shutting the raptor down Lee had Willow stay inside until he talked to Eloshi.

When Lee finished telling her everything he knew he asked " Will she be safe here?" Eloshi nodded yes " Are you going down to Kobol?"

Eloshi wanted to meet this cylon " I was, but I think I am needed here more "

Lee had another request " I know you are close to Roslin, but you can't tell her about Willow, we can't take the chance of her putting Willow out an airlock"

Eloshi sighed " I know that Apollo and I know how important Willow is, now can I meet her?"

Lee went and told Willow to come out " Willow this is Eloshi she is a priestess and she will make sure you are safe "

Eloshi reached out her hand " Come on child and I will help you get settled "

Adam showed up before they could leave " Hey Lee, what's going on?"

Lee looked at Adam " Captain Thrace returned from Caprica a short while ago and she asked me to bring Willow here where she would be safe"

Adam knew there was more " Hi Willow, I am Adam "

Lee looked at Willow " Could you excuse us a minute I need to speak to Willow?"

They nodded and moved further into the Aurora.

Lee waited till Willow looked at him " Willow If you ever need anything and Adam is around talk to him, because just like us he only wants to keep Kara safe, okay "

Willow nodded " You must love Kara very much "

Lee blushed " I do "

Willow touched his cheek " Kara loves you to Lee "

Willow was walking away when Lee called to her " Thank you for telling me what you did Willow " she nodded and continued on to meet up with Eloshi.

Adam walked back to Lee " What was that about?"

Lee shrugged " I'm not really sure, I just know that she is connected to Kara and Aurora and Kara wants to make sure she is safe and that very few people know about her, so I told her if she needed anything and you were around she could trust you " Lee paused " Adam she is a cylon"

Adam chuckled " The gods work in mysterious ways " Adam needed to know about Kara " Lee, is Kara okay?"

Again Lee shrugged " I think so, but I noticed one of her hands bandaged I am heading back there now, we have a lot of meetings plus we have to find the Tomb of Athena "

Adam smiled " I can't wait to see her, but I know she has a lot to do, so in the meantime I will get to know Willow "

Lee was fidgeting " I have to leave now and help with things on the Galactica, I think Kara is coming over here tomorrow to see Willow "

Adam smiled again " Go ahead Lee and thanks for the heads up about Kara "

Lee lifted off and try to process things on his way back to the Galactica. He wondered what they were supposed to do about Boomer and Athena. Lee felt like he let Kara down because he had promised her he would never let Leobon near her again. How could she trust him again after all she went through.

[BREAK]*************************************************************************************************************

When Kara entered life station Cottle took her to the room where Helo, Athena and Boomer were " I think it will be best if I keep all of you together, now who do I need to see first?"

The three of them pointed to Kara. " I should have known " Cottle grumbled " Okay Starbuck what do I need to check out?"

Kara unwrapped her hand holding it out for Cottle to see " My gods Starbuck what happened?"

Helo spoke through gritted teeth " Leobon slammed her hand in a door several times breaking her wrist and all of her fingers "

Athena spoke up " She also has a couple of broken ribs " She saw Starbuck glaring at her

Kara then turned to glare at Helo, she wasn't going to give Cottle that much detail " Could you hurry up and fix it before Lee shows up?"

Cottle shook his head " I am going to have to knock you out so I can re-break everything and then reset all of the damage "

Kara started pacing " No I can handle the pain, so let's do this now "

Cottle didn't think she could, but he didn't have time to change her mind " Get on the table and lay back and Helo I need you to hold her still "

Right before Cottle started Boomer grabbed her good hand and Kara made no move to remove her hand.

Cottle broke her wrist first causing Kara to scream out and she squeezed Boomers hand almost breaking it.

Next he moved on to each finger breaking it and resetting it as he moved from one to the other. Kara had passed out after two of the fingers were fixed, so Cottle finished up and wrapped it back up while she was still out of it.

Athena went next as Cottle confirmed that she was pregnant and the baby was fine.

After checking out Boomer and treating Helo's knuckles he left them alone.

All three of them sat there in silence waiting on Kara to wake up.

Lee walked into the room to find Kara asleep in a bed while Helo, Athena and Boomer had sat on the floor with their backs to the wall.

He walked over and touched her cheek " Why is she asleep?"

Boomer stood up " She passed out while Cottle fixed her hand, she refused to be knocked out " Boomer shivered " She was in so much pain"

Lee grabbed her good hand and squeezed it " I wish I could get my hands on Leobon "

Athena chuckled " Don't worry about it, Helo made sure he was paid back for what he did and then some "

Lee looked at Helo " Did you make him suffer?"

Helo stood up " I made sure he suffered ten times the amount Kara suffered "

Lee sighed" Good, when Kara wakes up we will have to move to a conference room "

Athena got up " What will they do to us Apollo?"

Lee shrugged " The commander is trying to work something out, but Roslin will probably never agree with him, plus she believes she is the dying leader and will never believe that Kara is the one chosen to find us a home "

Helo gasped " How do you know about that, Kara just found out herself?"

Lee smiled " I learned a lot of things while she was gone, that's why the commander had the bay cleared so fast"

They all turned as Kara made a sound and saw she was waking up " What happened "

Helo snorted " You passed out because you would not let Cottle knock you out "

Lee leaned over and kissed her cheek " Time to wake up Kara we have a lot to do "

Kara snorted " That is an understatement Lee "

Lee just grinned " We need to come up with a way of getting Athena and Boomer to the conference room without anyone seeing them "

[BREAK]**************************************************************************************************************

Caprica had woken up about thirty minutes ago and was now on her way to tell Cavil what happened.

As soon as she stepped into the control room he started " Where have you been and where is Leobon?"

Caprica crossed the room " I found Leobon and an eight in the Temple of Delphi where I was searching and they had Starbuck with them "

Cavil slammed his hand against the flat surface " Where are they now?"

Caprica shrugged " While I was arguing with Leobon, Boomer, the rouge eight, the pilot and a few other people busted into the Temple" she paused " I had a gun on Starbuck, so they went after the eight that was with Leobon and they took both of them outside, so I'm not real sure what they did to them, but they got the drop on me and shot me "

Cavil went to the console and sent a team to the Temple to check it out, then turned back to Caprica " Do you think Starbuck got away?"

Caprica nodded " Probably, I tried to get Leobon to bring her in, but he wants Starbuck enough to defy orders " she paused " I hate to say it Cavil, but he can't be trusted anymore "

Natalie had walked up without Caprica knowing it " I agree with Caprica, not only is he not following orders, but he talked an eight into helping him"

Cavil thought a minute " I want the centurions programmed to kill any Leobon that steps one foot off of any base star, he is not allowed to leave them anymore "

Caprica nodded " What if that doesn't work?"

Cavil snorted " Then I will box him "

Natalie and Caprica both smiled because they knew Leobon would leave again and he would soon be boxed.

[BREAK]**************************************************************************************************************

Adama had finally made it to his office only to find a very upset president.

Roslin had been pacing around the office and stopped when she heard the hatch open to reveal the commander. " What in the frak has been going on and why did you go against protocol and shut the bay down?"

Adama waited until he was seated behind his desk before answering her " A lot of things started happening fast, Captain Thrace has returned with the arrow among other things "

Roslin sat down smiling " Where is the arrow now?"

Adama sighed " Starbuck said someone in the resistance group she brought back has it, but I haven't had time to talk to them yet "

Roslin folded her arms " What else is going on?"

Adama saw his bottle of scotch and poured himself a drink " Kara also brought back a raptor pilot who was left behind during the destruction of the colonies, his name is Karl Agethon he is an ECO stationed on the Galactica " Adama paused to take a swallow of his drink " and she also brought back his pregnant cylon, a number eight like Boomer "

Roslin was pissed off " Why in gods name would she do that and where are they now?"

Adama sighed loudly " Boomer also returned with her, it seems both of these cylons have switched sides "

Roslin got louder " This is fraking insane, I hope you plan on air locking them, because cylons can not be trusted "

Adama stood up " No I am not air locking anybody besides as we both know not all humans can be trusted either, Kara also has a mole inside the cylons main base star and they are in the conference room now waiting on us "

Roslin didn't move " Then that means the mole is a cylon, what is wrong with Captain Thrace has she finally cracked?"

Adama motioned for her to follow him " She is not crazy, Kara seems to have a knack for making the most out of bad situations "

Roslin didn't like it, but she went with him anyway just to see how crazy it all was.

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

Kara,Lee,Helo,Athena and Boomer had finally managed to make it to the conference room without anybody seeing them.

As they went inside they sat down with Boomer, Kara and Lee on one side while Helo and Athena sat across from them.

Lee cleared his throat " I am not sure what everyone knows so I will start " Lee looked at Kara " I found out while you were gone that Aurora had chosen you at birth for this cycle of time "

Kara looked beside her at him a little shocked " Who told you that Lee?"

Lee sighed " Mark and I put some things together and figured out it was a possibility "

Boomer nudged Starbuck " We can't tell Roslin or the commander about Willow "

Lee stood up to pace " Kara I have told dad most of it and for some reason he believed me, but you are right about Roslin, Boomer "

Lee walked up behind Kara and placed his hands on her shoulder " Can I see the mark Kara?"

She nodded and lifted her hair up for Lee to see, then he placed a gentle kiss on the mark before stepping back.

Boomer had another questions " Are you going to tell them about Caprica?"

Kara nodded " I have to "

Athena suddenly sat up " Are you going to tell Roslin about Aurora?"

Kara sighed " Not until I have to " Kara paused " Don't worry Athena I will find a way for you and Boomer to stay and if that doesn't work we will leave and try to find Earth ourselves "

Lee was shocked as was Helo " You can't be serious about that Kara "

Kara reached and grabbed Lees hand under the table and squeezed it " I may not have much choice Lee "

Lee shook his head no " Kara, if we tell Roslin about you and Aurora she might agree with us and let you lead "

Lee heard several snickers " I wouldn't count on it " and someone else spoke up " She is determined to follow the scrolls of Pythia "

Before any one else could comment the commander and Roslin walked in and sat down, one at each end of the table.

Roslin sat on the end where she would be by Lee, she really didn't want to be here.

Adama sat down with Boomer on one side and Athena next to him on the other side " Before we start I want to thank Boomer for everything she did, she chose to go against her programming and didn't kill me " he paused " Then she destroyed the base star and she made sure to bring Starbuck and the arrow back to the fleet "

Adama looked at Kara " How is your hand?"

Kara lifted up the bandaged hand " It's okay, but I won't be able to fly for at least two weeks maybe longer.

Lee knew they couldn't bring up Aurora or Willow yet and he needed to think of something to say " Athena knows where the Tomb of Athena is, now that I have said that it sounds ironic "

Kara chuckled " We need to go down to Kobol soon before the cylons show up "

Roslin sneered " I would think that the mole you have inside with the cylons would give us a heads up before they showed up "

Kara looked straight at Roslin " She will if she can and Boomer will be the only one in communication with her " Kara paused " Madame President I need Boomer and Athena free so they can help me "

Roslin slapped the table hard " The only way you will see them is in the brig, Captain Thrace do I need to remind you who is in charge here and what exactly do you need them to help you with?"

Kara looked around the room " Then we have a problem, because without them our chances of finding Earth will take longer or we might not find it at all "

Roslin glared at Kara " Why do you think you are the one that can find Earth, even if that was true I would think that cylons would be the last ones to help you?"

Helo stood up he was angry " Boomer and Athena have done nothing but continue to help us, if it wasn't for them and the mole, Kara would have never made it back to the fleet alive "

Lee was getting tired of having to answer to Roslin " This is a waste of time, the president is never going to listen to us " He paused looking at his dad than Roslin " I told you both before, without Kara we will never find Earth or any other planet "

Roslin glared hard at him " We will find Earth by following Pythia not some viper pilot "

Boomer looked at Adama " Sir, Lee is right, Kara is the key to finding Earth "

Adama knew Roslin didn't know what he did " Kara do you have any idea as to how Athena and Boomer can walk around the Galactica without there being problems?"

Kara looked at Lee " I think together Lee and I can talk to the pilots, the deck crew and the marines and explain things to them "

Lee nodded " It could work commander as long as they know you are with us and you could handle the CIC, besides everyone knows about the cylons anyway "

Roslin shouted " The civilians will not like it and it could cause you problems Commander, the civilians might question your leadership "

Adama nodded " I know that, but I am willing to trust them, especially if it means we can find Earth "

Athena spoke up " Madame President the resistance will tell you the same thing we have, but right now we need to go to Kobol "

Roslin refused to respond to her " What happens after Kobol?"

Adama stood up " We will decide that after we find the Tomb, Captain Thrace I will let you choose who goes to Kobol "

Kara smiled " That's easy, everyone that is in this room "

Roslin snorted " Eloshi will be going also "

Lee had to let her know " Eloshi is not going, she sent a message earlier saying she was busy with something else "

Roslin gasped " I don't believe you "

Lee snorted " Ask her yourself "

Roslin was going to ask Eloshi herself " Billy will be going also "

Adama needed to end this " You are dismissed, we will leave in an hour " He looked at Kara " You need to find a way of getting these two in a raptor without being seen "

Lee spoke up " I think I have a way to get it done "

Adama nodded and he followed Roslin out leaving them in the room.

Kara sat back fuming " Roslin will never believe there is another way, other than hers "

Lee stood up " We need a new vice president now that Gaius is dead, but we need someone that will be on our side "

Kara snorted " Lee who do we know that can be vice president?"

Lee smiled " I have an idea, but he needs exposure in a big way so that the civilians will know who he is and accept him and we can't let Roslin know it is our idea "

Kara rolled her eyes " Who are you talking about Lee?"

Lee smiled " Mark Rivers "

Kara gasped " How in the frak do you plan on pulling that off?"

Lee tapped her on the nose " That is where you come in Starbuck, we just need one of your crazy ass plans "

Boomer chuckled " We just need to make him a hero then everyone will know who he is "

Kara shook her head " It might work, but we will have to wait until we come back from Kobol to come up with a plan, Lee do whatever you were planning on doing about getting them into a raptor "

Lee pulled Kara up and led her to a corner of the room " You guys look away for a minute " before Kara could ask what he was up to he kissed her thoroughly and it wasn't long before she gave in and then she kissed him again when he ended the kiss, they pulled apart resting their foreheads together " I'll go set it up now "

After Lee left Helo chuckled " I didn't think you would be into pda's Kara "

Kara glared at him " Shut up Helo "

Kara couldn't understand why Lee wasn't freaked out about Aurora.

It wasn't long before they all laid their heads down, they were exhausted.

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

Lee left to find Racetrack and Mark, he knew Mark would agree with what he had planned, he just wasn't sure Racetrack would though. He found them in the rec room.

Mark saw him before he reached them " What has been going on Lee?"

Lee frowned " It's confidential Mark, I need you and Racetrack to come to my office right now, on second thought come with me to the conference room and I will explain what I need you to do Racetrack "

Racetrack got up " Yes Sir "

Lee knew he would have to trust Racetrack and having Mark with her he was sure he could get her to agree to his plan. He made one stop by the bunk room and grabbed two pairs of orange coveralls.

When they entered the conference room and Racetrack saw two Sharon's she gasped " What in the frak is going on Captain?" everyone stood up

Mark wasn't paying attention because as soon as he saw Kara he went and pulled her into a hug swinging her around before putting her down to look at her " You don't know how happy I am to see you Kara "

Kara pulled back and winked at him " Back at you "

Helo was confused watching Kara with this man who obviously was glad to see her and he called her Kara which only a few people could get away with calling her that. Helo also noticed Lee wasn't concerned about it.

Racetrack finally sat down " Does the commander know about this?"

Lee sat down facing her " Yes he does, I need you to trust me about this, no one knows they are on board yet " Mark went and pulled a chair so he too was facing her " Maggie, Lee can't tell us what is going on, but I know we need to trust him "

Kara added her two cubits " Racetrack it's okay they saved me and Helo on Caprica and they have switched to our side, without their help things will only get harder and more dangerous, I can't tell you everything, but I promise you the commander knows all of it "

Racetrack looked at Athena, who are you " My call sign is Athena given to me by Starbuck "

Racetrack looked back at Lee " What do you need me to do Apollo?"

Lee picked up the orange coveralls " Athena and Boomer will be dressed in these and while Kara and I distract the chief and Cally I need you to get them on your raptor for the trip to Kobol "

Mark spoke up " Can I go with you?"

Lee thought about it " I will get the commander to sign off on it, Mark I need you to stay close to the president and ignore us, so you can gain her trust "

Kara smiled " Mark, the president believes the only way to Earth is by following the scrolls of Pythia, and she is not going to change her mind "

Mark looked around not knowing how many people knew what " She is wrong Kara and we both know it "

Boomer had been listening to them " Yes she is wrong and that is why Apollo wants you to gain her trust even if you have to discredit us "

Mark looked at Lee " How will that help Kara?"

Kara smirked " Lee has this great plan to make sure you are our next vice president "

Racetrack gasped " There is a lot more going on if you want Mark as the vice president "

Lee looked back at her " It is and it is about finding Earth, and we won't find it by following Roslin "

Kara spoke to her next " I promise you that Athena and Boomer can be trusted and after we get back Lee and I plan on telling the pilots, the deck crew and the marines all about them, until then we need your help "

Racetrack nodded " Count me in then "

Lee looked at his watch " We need to go, Kara and I will go first and Mark you can help Racetrack"

Before they left Helo approached Racetrack " Thank you for helping us, even I don't know everything, but I trust Apollo and Starbuck "

Racetrack suddenly thought about the other raptor " What are you going to tell the other pilot and their ECO?"

Frak Lee thought looking at Kara " Who should we have flying the other raptor ?"

Kara thought about it " I think Keeper and Crashdown can be trusted "

Racetrack nodded " I agree, they are loyal to Apollo and you "

Lee grabbed the phone telling them to get down to the hangar deck and prepare a raptor for Kobol.

Just as they started to leave Athena asked " Do you think someone has talked to the resistance yet?"

Lee shrugged " I don't know, but we don't have time for that right now'

Nothing else was said as they headed to the hangar bay.

[BREAK]**************************************************************************************************************

Roslin was in the CIC talking to Eloshi from the Aurora " Is it true that you are not going to Kobol with us?"

Eloshi sighed " I have things here on the Aurora that I need to take care of, I'm sorry Madame President "

Roslin sighed " I really was hoping you would come, strange things have been happening here on the Galactica "

Eloshi looked over where Willow was looking at religious things " I am sure things will work themselves out "

Roslin gave in " Then can I see you when I get back?"

Eloshi closed her eyes wondering if Roslin would give up on the scrolls of Pythia " Sure, just give me a call when you return "

Dee had been listening to Roslin wondering what strange things she was referring to when she heard her talking to her. " Could you put out a ship wide page telling Billy to meet me on the hangar deck?"

Dee nodded " Yes sir " before pushing the button to sound out over all of the Galactica "

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

Adama went to conference room B while Roslin went to the CIC to contact Eloshi.

When Adama entered he saw that half of the twenty five people Kara brought back was asleep.

Adama didn't know who to speak to " I am Commander Adama, who is your leader?"

A man stepped forward " I am, my name is Sam Anders, are Boomer and Athena okay?"

Adama nodded surprised that these people were concerned about the two cylons " They are for right now, Starbuck said you would have the arrow "

Sam walked over to his seat and brought the arrow to him " Is Starbuck and Helo okay, we were worried about her hand?"

Adama looked around the room as some of them started waking up " Doc Cottle fixed her hand, but she can't fly for a couple of weeks "

When they remained silent Adama spoke " I have a marine stationed outside, she will take you to the mess hall so you can eat, then you all need to get checked out by the Doc and then you will return here after wards. We have a mission on Kobol and as soon as we return I will send Helo and Starbuck to find you a place to sleep "

Sam stepped back " Thank you Commander "

Adama nodded and left heading to the CIC.

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

Racetrack had managed to get Athena and Boomer into her raptor and was standing outside of it with Mark, Kara, Helo and Lee.

As Kara stood there with her arms crossed she pointed out " There is no more room in this raptor, the rest will have to ride with Keeper and Crashdown "

Lee nodded, that meant his dad, Roslin and Billy would be in the other one. He stepped close to Kara " I need to speak to dad alone before we leave you might have to keep Roslin busy "

Kara snorted " I don't think she will want to talk to me, but I will try "

When Lee spotted his dad crossing the bay he called out to him " Commander I need to speak to you a minute "

Adama told Roslin to go ahead and he would catch up.

He met Lee in the middle of the bay " Is there something wrong Captain?"

Lee looked around " I need you not to mention to Roslin that Mark is a good friend of mine and Kara's, just tell her he is Racetracks boyfriend "

Adama raised his eyebrows " What are you up to Lee?"

Lee snorted " Roslin is never going to give up believing that Pythia is who we should follow, so I decided since we need a new vice president we need to make sure it is someone who will back Kara up "

Adama sighed " Lee are you sure you are willing to manipulate politics?"

Lee sighed " Dad we both know Kara is the one we should follow and if this doesn't work out she intends to leave and find Earth on her own "

Adama closed his eyes he knew how stubborn Kara could be especially when she was right " Maybe if we tell Roslin about Aurora she will change her mind "

Lee looked away " Maybe, but she believes she is the dying leader and that Pythia chose her to find Earth "

Dad I need to tell you something " When we get back I am taking Kara to the Aurora tomorrow, she doesn't know it, but her dad is alive and he was the one that told me about Aurora and her connection to Kara, please don't say anything before I get the chance to show her "

Adama looked at Lee once more " Now I understand why you believe in Aurora, we will discuss it some more when we return, I just hope Kara can handle it " Adama paused " Lee she needs a good nights sleep before you throw something like this at her "

Lee frowned " I know, I'm just worried it will be to much after everything else she has been through these past few days "

Adama shrugged " It might at first, but I believe she will be happy once she gets used to it "

After that they both boarded separate raptors.

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

Athena asked to sit up front with Racetrack " I am hoping to find a place closer to the Tomb to land "

" Racetrack, Keeper the commander wants to know what is going on "

Racetrack answered " Athena thinks that we can land closer to the Tomb saving a lot of walking "

Athena finally saw it " There it is and we can land within spitting distance to it "

" Thank the gods, I hate walking " Kara grinned

After both raptors had sat down everyone got off, it had been a while for some to stand on the ground since the war started.

[BREAK]**************************************************************************************************************

At first no one spoke until Mark walked over to the president who seemed a bit tense " Hello Madame President I am Mark Rivers, you seemed a bit tense and I wanted to make sure you were okay?"

Roslin looked at him " I'm okay, you are a civilian, so how did you manage to come to Kobol ?"

Mark laughed " You're right, I am friends with the raptor pilot, but right before we were leaving she got the order for this mission and asked the commander if I could come along, besides I am interested in Pythia and wanted to see the tomb "

Roslin smiled " I'm glad you are here we should have brought a few more civilians with us, were you talking about Racetrack before?"

Mark chuckled " Yes, I am still trying to get used to her call sign, to me she is Maggie "

Roslin grinned " So where do you work?"

Mark smiled and looked up " I own a restaurant on Cloud nine "

Roslin chuckled " I will have to come by one night for dinner "

Mark nodded " If you let me know in advance I can set everything up for you "

Kara, Racetrack and Boomer were standing together when Lee walked up " It looks like our little plan might work " he said nodding toward Mark and Roslin.

Adama chose that moment to speak " Can we stop standing around and get on with this "

Everyone fell in line to walk the short distance to the Tomb,

[BREAK]**************************************************************************************************************

* * *

( Leave a comment )


	31. Chapter 31

A Different Beginning-Chapter 31

THIS STORY BEGINS WHEN THE COLONIES WERE DESTROYED.

IT IS MOSTLY A.U. WITH A LITTLE BIT OF CANON.

ALSO LEE AND KARA MEET FOR THE FIRST TIME.

A.N.-ALL MISTAKES ARE MINE

[BREAK]******************************************************************************************************************

CHAPTER-31-A Different Beginning

Kara walked with Roslin to what looked like a sealed doorway. Kara kept turning the arrow one way than another way before she gave up " They could have sent the arrow with instructions on how to open this fraking door "

Adama came forward " Maybe it is to be used inside, come on Helo, and bring Lee and Mark, maybe between the four of us we can push it open "

They all went to the doorway and started pushing finally getting it open.

Adama turned to face Helo " I need you and Mark to stay outside with the others. "

Roslin quickly said " No, I want Mark to come in since he is the only civilian with us, Billy you wait out here with the others"

Kara was surprised at Roslin's statement and by looking around at each of the others they were as shocked as she was, except Mark because he smirked then grinned at the others.

So Roslin, Adama, Lee, Mark and Kara entered the opening and started looking at the broken statues inside.

They all began speaking one after the other naming the statues.

Adama pointed out the one with the missing arrow and Kara stepped forward with Lee a step behind her and as she lifted the arrow to put it in it's place it jumped from her hand causing the entrance to shut and then they suddenly found themselves standing on a patch of grass with the night sky above them.

There were statutes there also along with several tall towers made of stone, Lee whispered " Where are we?"

Kara was in awe " I think we are standing on Earth"

Lee looked up and pointed at something " I think I have seen that before "

Adama agreed " I think the astronomers who found it named it the M80 body, it is a long way from here "

Lee gasped " I think this is a map of sorts "

Adama sighed " Well we at least have an idea which way to go now "

Roslin who had been walking around stated " At least finding the Tomb of Athena proves Pythia was right "

Adama looked over at Mark who hadn't spoken " Mark are you okay?"

Mark seemed to take a long time to answer " Yeah I guess, something feels off but, familiar here" Mark looked at the commander " Commander I am Mark Rivers and I wanted to thank you for allowing me to come to Kobol with Maggie "

Adama had to think for a minute " Oh you mean Racetrack " then he whispered " I didn't have much choice with Kara and Lee double teaming me about it " he then chuckled

They walked around a little bit longer by themselves, Kara prayed, Lee was trying to write everything down, Mark had knelt down and was rubbing a piece of stone he had found while Roslin and Adama looked at the statues.

Adama finally told them to get ready to leave, so they all stepped back to the same place they appeared at and suddenly found themselves back in the cave.

[BREAK]**************************************************************************************************************

By the time they came out Racetrack who had been pacing with worry ran to Mark and threw her arms around him " I was so worried "

Kara looked over and caught Lee's eyes and looked back at Mark before looking back at Lee who just shrugged.

Everyone got back into the raptors except Adama, Lee and Kara " Sir, how are we going to get them safely off the hangar deck without any one seeing them?"

Lee added " Kara and I were hoping to tell everyone tomorrow at the same time "

Adama called Mark out " Would you take my place and ride with the President so we can get Athena and Boomer back on board safely?"

Mark didn't mind " Sure I will sir "

Once they lifted off Adama had them put the orange work suits back on " Do you think Mark knows not to tell Roslin anything?"

Kara looked at him " Don't worry sir, he won't "

Adama told her "Kara you and Lee distract Cally and the chief and I will put these two back into life station for the night, under guard "

All four of them agreed.

They had been sitting silent for about ten minutes when Boomer clutched her head for a few seconds and then let her hands drop " Caprica said a base star will be jumping to Kobol in thirty minutes "

Adama called out to Racetrack " How long before we land " Racetrack answered " Ten minutes, sir "

Adama went up front" Patch me into the Galactica "

Thank god Saul answered Adama thought " Colonel make sure all ships are spooled up to jump in ten minutes, the cylons are coming, we will be landing in seven minutes, Adama out "

Adama then looked at Kara " So it seems you do have a mole. I need to talk to you, Boomer and Athena early tomorrow morning and you too Lee to discuss how much we should tell Roslin. Somehow I think it will be harder for her to believe certain things then it did for me "

Both raptors flew in right before the outer doors started closing. They all stayed inside until after the jump. Lee reminded his dad " Commander I am going to the Aurora first thing in the morning, so you need to push the meeting up "

Adama nodded " Okay, just be careful Lee "

Lee nodded before heading to block the chief off.

Kara immediately cornered Cally and stood where Cally's back would be to the commander and started talking to her about one of her engine lights going on and off.

Across the bay she saw Lee had done the same thing.

After Adama got them out of the bay, Kara and Lee headed straight for Keeper and Crashdown, but instead of taking a chance on being heard he asked them to come to his office. " You can finish your checklist after we are done "

Keeper and Crashdown looked at each other and shrugged, whatever it was they were going to find out soon enough.

Kara went in first and leaned against the wall while Crash and Keeper stood in front of their CAG'S desk waiting for Apollo to sit down, instead he leaned against the back wall.

Kara decided to start " We need you to keep quiet about what you saw today "

Crash laughed " You mean the Temple or the cylons?"

Keeper snorted " The cylons man, are you stupid or what?"

Lee picked it up " We will be telling everyone about them tomorrow all at the same time,pilots, deck crews and the marines "

Kara added " They and another cylon literally saved my ass on Caprica and helped bring us back to the fleet." she paused " I know a lot of people won't accept them or believe these two have changed, but if anyone messes with them then they will be answering to me and it won't be pleasant"

Lee stood up from the wall " Guys they really have changed and the only thing that will make them mad is anyone who goes after Starbuck, if you don't believe us ask the resistance group that were on the run with them " Lee paused " Just keep quiet about it until we tell everyone else please" "

" Yes Sir " they saluted then Lee dismissed them.

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

After jumping three times people started finishing what they had been doing.

As for Kara and Lee they sat down on the couch and snuggled together as they rested after what had been a long day.

Lee was holding Kara with one arm and running his fingers through her hair with the other hand when his phone rang, he removed his hand out of her hair to grab the phone which was located on the wall behind him " Captain Adama here, I hope whoever this is it had better be important "

Adama chuckled " Sorry to interrupt Lee, but I want you and Kara to eat dinner with me, I think we need to figure out just how much everyone knows before we talk to anyone else, besides I would like a little alone time with the both of you "

Lee sighed, then told Kara what his dad wanted, she nodded " We agree, what time should we be there ?" Adama answered " One hour "

When Lee hung up Kara sat forward placing her elbows on her knees " If we are going I desperately need a shower and a change of clothes "

Lee stopped her from getting up by placing his hand on her arm " Kara I am sorry about Leobon and what he did to your hand and I am sorry I didn't keep my promise to you by letting Leobon get his hands on you."

Kara leaned in and kissed his cheek " Lee that wasn't your fault I am the one that flew away, but I am glad to finally be back here with you "

Lee was rubbing her back now and remembered they needed to get ready " Use my shower and I will go pick up some of your clothes up out of your locker "

Kara stood up " Thanks, do you think I can get away with wearing my tanks and running pants ?"

Lee laughed " Yes, because I am wearing the same thing, now jump in the shower and I'll be right back and save me some hot water " he said as he left his room/office.

Kara tried to hurry up, but it had been so long since she had a shower she was still in it when Lee returned.

Lee opened the door a little bit " Are you planning on coming out anytime soon ?"

Kara giggled and opened the door all the way " No, but your welcome to join me, I don't mind sharing "

Lee asked " Are you sure " Kara laughed " I wouldn't have offered if I didn't mean it "

Lee removed his clothes and was inside the shower in under a minute, then he stopped to stare at the sight of Kara naked.

Kara thought he might stand there all day so she reached and grabbed him pulling him under the water with her " Get your hair wet Lee and I will wash it for you "

After wetting his hair he turned and stopped when he was facing her and placed his hands on her hips and slowly started moving them up and down along her sides. While she lathered up the shampoo and began washing his hair, after that she grabbed a rag and soaped it up handing it to him " You are going to have to finish washing yourself "

As Lee was washing his stomach he looked at her " Are you through?"

She nodded and he noticed her eyes had darkened, so he rinsed off quickly pulling her against him and started nibbling on her neck heading to her lips. When he reached her lips she was ready for him to kiss her. Kara didn't know how long they stood there kissing and would have continued if not for the water turning cold.

Lee stepped out grabbing a towel and passed one to her " I plan on finishing what we started tonight "

Kara blushed " Who said I will let you?" Lee grabbed her and kissed her again until they were both fighting to breathe " You did, just now" he winked at her as he left the small bathroom to get dressed.

Kara walked out and deliberately dressed slow to torture him " We need to go Lee, it's almost time "

Lee laughed as he opened the office door " I will blame it on you if we are "

Kara laughed as they walked side by side both letting their hands brush against each others.

Then they ran into Dee who stopped them. " Everyone is glad you made it back alive Starbuck "

Kara laughed " Everybody, but you, right petty officer?"

Dee laughed manically " I won't deny that, I hoped you would never come back "

Lee stepped toward her " I am going to make a note on your personnel file that you need to see a shrink, especially after making a comment like that about a fellow colonial officer, and as we are headed to see the commander for dinner I intend on telling him what you just said to Captain Thrace, you may find yourself transferred after that "

Kara wasn't going to stop him, simply because she believed Dee had become unstable and it could result in someone getting hurt. Kara grabbed Lee's hand " Let's go, the commander is probably wondering where we are "

It seemed Dee still had something to say " She is not good enough for you Lee "

Lee was barely holding in his anger " I told you never to use my name again only rank, and by the way, you are the one who is not good enough for me or anybody else "

They walked away before she said something else. Kara had wanted to hit her so bad, she barely held herself back.

As they reached the hatch Lee stopped her " While you were gone she made a play for me again, I thought she would let it go when you came back, Kara I have no choice except to report her before some one gets hurt "

Kara looked at him " I agree with you, besides I don't have time to deal with her bullshit right now "

{BREAK]**************************************************************************************************************

Kara and Lee entered Adama's office after hearing him call out " Come in "

Adama sat down at the table after they both sat down " I am so glad this past week is over and before we get started on other things Kara I want to apologize if I ever made you feel you weren't good enough for Lee " he paused " My only excuse was that I already considered you as my daughter and I never knew how you and Lee felt about each other " again he stopped to pour them all a drink " And Lee it was never my intention to make you feel like I thought you were not good enough for Kara and no one is happier about the fact that you two are together than me, after I had a chance to get used to it "

Kara had almost teared up " Thank you for telling us, sir "

Adama coughed " One more thing then I will let it go " Lee I am sorry for trying to push you towards Dee "

Lee sat forward " Talking about Dee, Kara and I just ran into her on the walkway and she said some awful things. " Lee looked at Kara " Dee told Kara she wished she had never made it back and I keep turning her down, but she refuses to take the hint and won't leave me alone " Lee took a sip of his drink " I had another pilot that told me Dee changed after I came on board the Galactica "

Kara wanted to explain " Sir, I can take care of myself, but I hope Dee doesn't do anything that would put anyone else in danger while attempting to hurt me "

Adama was shocked " Oh my gods Lee, I didn't know, now if someone innocent gets hurt it will be my fault "

Lee was rubbing the back of his neck thinking " Not if you get her off of the Galactica tomorrow "

Adama sighed " That won't work she is still a colonial officer "

Kara sighed " All she really does is answer the coms, so she could do the same on one of the larger civilian ships, just tell her an opening came up and she was the only available choice at the moment "

Adama grumbled " This is something else I am going to have to keep from Roslin "

Lee shook his head " Not really, she doesn't need to be told about it, and if she brings it up you can just say it was a military decision "

Adama smiled " Your right, it is kinda scary how well the two of you have become at deception "

Kara snorted " Not to change the subject, but would it help to have the meeting with Roslin in Mark's restaurant since it will be only the four of us, Roslin told Mark she would like to eat there and over there you might have more control of the meeting, sir?"

Adama smirked " We might as well try it because so far the two of you have been managing a lot, and I take you are trying to get Roslin to like Mark, because he is a civilian "

Kara smiled " I will let Mark call her and let her know that you requested it, but you wanted to know if she would agree to a work meeting along with dinner at the restaurant , don't worry sir Mark can be very convincing and he knows about everything according to Lee "

Lee spoke up then " We could meet her there and keep her busy while you remove Dee from the Galactica, keeping her in the dark about it long enough for us to come to an agreement as to which way we need to go. "

Kara spoke quickly " As for right now we are heading the right way, but as we get closer I have a feeling that is going to change "

" There is something I need to tell the both of you " Kara tried to get her thoughts in order " I think there is going to be a religious war between the cylons causing them to split up "

Lee gave her a strange look " What did you do Kara?"

Kara grinned " That's the best part I didn't do anything, until right before I left, I may have told an eight model that Cavil was wrong because no God would want to wipe out an entire race " Kara paused " And I pointed out that two of her sisters had already decided there was no cylon god and that I had heard there were others changing their minds also " Kara sighed again " Okay that last bit was bullshit "

Adama and Lee both chuckled " It seems you did a lot of damage while you were on Caprica " Adama stated

Kara shrugged " It wasn't me, I think I was tied up for most of the trip, but my team seemed to pull off a lot of things "

Lee grinned " I don't think you took a team with you Kara "

Kara smirked " You are being a smart-ass Lee, I was talking about all the rouges I put together to create a team, but seriously it was Boomer, Athena and Helo who did most of it "

Kara got up " I had a great time catching up with you commander, but I really need to get some sleep, before we have to go through another day like today "

Adama stood also " Are we going to tell Roslin about Aurora?"

Kara shrugged " I don't know yet, I'm hoping someones let's me know if we should tell her "

" I enjoyed it dad, come on I'll walk you back Kara " Lee grabbed her hand the second they stepped out of the office steering her to his office\bedroom,

Kara smirked " You are getting a little ahead of yourself, you know that right?"

Lee pulled her into his room then hugged her and whispered " I thought about it, but I think we both need a good nights sleep before we have to face more stuff tomorrow and you know we both sleep better when we sleep together " Lee undressed and crawled into the bed and spread out.

Kara remembered she was supposed to call Mark, reaching for his phone she had the CIC place the call for her, as she waited she looked over at Lee who was staring at her, she winked at him causing him to smile " Finally, Mark I am sorry for calling so late but I need a favor " then she told him in detail what she needed and why " I'll take care of it Kara, tell Lee I said good night" he heard her gasp " What makes you think I am with Lee?"

Mark laughed " Where else would you be Kara, except with Lee " Kara smiled " Fine I'll tell him and thanks for everything Mark "

Lee leaned up on an elbow " Tell me what?"

Kara yawned " You're right about us sleeping better together and Mark said to tell you good night " she said as she slid into bed next to him after undressing herself

Kara chuckled " I can't believe you gave up fraking me so easily "

Lee rolled over to his side and kissed her deeply " I will be wide awake in the morning " then he winked at her before rolling onto his back again.

Kara laid her head on his shoulder and placed a leg on top of his, she felt like there was something she was supposed to do or say, when she couldn't remember she fell asleep after thanking the gods for returning her to Lee.

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

Ever since Lee had dropped Willow off Adam and Eloshi had been talking to her.

Willow blurted out what she wanted to know " Do either of you know about Aurora and her prophecy?"

Eloshi asked quietly " What do you want to know, Willow?"

Willow chuckled " Everything about her, but I know we don't have that kind of time "

Adam stated " There is actually two prophecies about Aurora, one that says she will return in her true form to lead the humans to safety and the other one says she will choose a newborn child for each cycle of time to help the humans find a home, if necessary "

Willow smiled the brightest smile that Adam and Eloshi had ever seen " Kara is Aurora's chosen one "

Eloshi thought that herself, but for a cylon to believe it something must have happened " Why do you sound so sure about that?"

Willow shrugged then looked at them both still smiling " Aurora shows up when I project and she told me all about Kara and made me vow to protect her and if I did all of this then I can live on the planet Kara finds, but I will have to live and die as humans do "

Adam was awe struck " Has Kara seen Aurora in your projections?"

Willow shook her head " No, there is a rule the gods made that say a chosen one can never see the one that chose her "

Adam should have remembered that " I forgot that, I haven't had to think about all the rules the gods have for a very long time "

Eloshi had so many questions " Has anyone else see Aurora?"

Willow nodded " Yes, first it was Caprica, because Aurora thought she had the most to be forgiven for and after they talked Caprica vowed to protect Kara also"

Willow paused " Then it was Boomer and Athena because Aurora knew that they had discovered Aurora's mark on Kara the night before, then they vowed to protect Kara " Willow cocked her head to the side before straightening up " Aurora would like to speak to both of you "

That shocked Adam, even though his daughter was Aurora's chosen one, he never expected to meet Aurora herself " What do we have to do?"

Since they had been sitting in a circle of sorts Willow grabbed one hand from each of them then projected the Temple of Delphi.

Adam gasped " I have been there before, that's in Delphi isn't it?" Then Aurora appeared about four feet from them in her flowing blue gown and with her long golden hair unbound " Yes it is, I know who you are and it is time to make your presence known, Kara is going to need you in the coming months " she paused waiting for him to speak except he didn't " I don't think you need to prepare her anymore she has learned a lot of this on her own,and she is a very strong woman "

Aurora turned to Eloshi " Priestess Eloshi, although I know you have some differences about the gods I know that you believe in this, so I am going to ask you to please change Roslin's mind or I fear Kara will get fed up and take it upon herself to go alone to find a new planet for the people "

Eloshi knew Roslin could be stubborn " What if she won't change her mind?"

Aurora sighed " Then people will start picking sides, instead I want you to try and bring the religious groups together, I think after hearing about the chosen one being in the fleet even though they will never know her identity, except for a few, they will stand with Kara " she paused " I have told Willow, but now I will warn you, if anyone tries to harm Kara they will be dealt with harshly, now even though you are a priestess and you are her dad I need you both to vow before me to protect Kara at all costs, and please protect Willow "

Adam and Eloshi both bowed their heads and vowed to protect Kara.

When they opened their eyes they were back on the Aurora.

Willow tapped Adam on the shoulder " Are you really Kara's dad?"

Adam frowned " Yes, but she doesn't even know I'm alive " he paused " I left her when she was eight years old "

Eloshi knew there was more to it then that " Why did you leave?"

Adam sighed " To protect Kara, an oracle at our Temple said the chosen one would be born soon and even though just the oracle and me knew for a fact it was Kara we knew that I would have to leave her one day," Adam paused " When the higher ups in our religions search started closing in on members of our Temple I knew it was time for me to leave, so Kara wouldn't be found out and lose her childhood yet "

Eloshi asked " I know we were taught that the gods sometimes took human form to be among the humans and people always believed that each god had a chosen one, not everyone really took it serious, so why the big search for Aurora's chosen one?"

Adam shrugged " I'm not real sure, but the oracle I knew said that all of the oracles were bringing up that Aurora's chosen one was real and living among them now "

Willow had been listening to them talk " Why is Aurora choosing to involve the cylons?"

Eloshi sighed " I am only guessing, but maybe Kara's dealings with some of the cylons has caused Aurora to alter her plans because Kara and a few of the cylons have bonded, like I said I'm only guessing "

Willow thought of something else " I think it also may be that some of the cylons are questioning their god, and are accepting Kara's gods "

Eloshi laughed " Kara is subconsciously accepting some cylons and therefore unconsciously forcing Aurora to change her plans "

Adam sighed " My daughter must be stubborn and I think it's time we all go to bed "

Eloshi took Willow with her to the women's side of the ship leaving Adam to go to the men's side.

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

The next morning an hour into shift change Adama ordered all pilots not on cap to meet up in the pilot's briefing room. After that he called for all marines to report to the same place and lastly ordered all of the deck crew there unless they were required to stay on the deck. He also opened the coms up for the cap and all of the Galactica.

Adama, Kara and Lee stood up front as everyone trickled in and took a seat, some having to stand when there were no more seats.

Commander Adama stepped up to the mike glancing around the room " I called this meeting to update all of you about some things that have happened this past week " Adama cleared his throat " As you all know Captain Thrace stole the captured raider we had and jumped back to Caprica at the President's request to do so, for the Arrow of Apollo which she brought back with her " Adama took his glasses off and pinched the bridge of his nose " Captain Thrace also brought back other things and that is why I have you all here, so I won't have to repeat myself "

Adama heard whispers in the crowd and looked to his left as Roslin stepped in and stood by the door. Adama turned to Kara and Lee," Do one of you want to finish this?"

They both walked up to the mike " Better together, right Starbuck?" she raised her brows at him and whispered " Are you still going to believe that when everyone freezes us out, or they might gang up and throw us off the ship "

Lee chuckled which was what Kara needed to get this started " I brought back two cylons with me " For a few seconds there was utter silence then she waited through the gasps and the oh my gods and you have got to be fraking kidding us and her favorite she is as insane as everyone says she is. Kara turned to see Lee trying not to laugh " I also brought back Helo and the Caprican Buccaners " and apparently they had nothing to say about that.

Starbuck stood up straight " Okay people this is how this is going to go, you are going to leave the cylons alone, they are an asset that is going to help us fight the cylons, I trust them and not just because they saved my ass on Caprica several times, but because I believed them when they said they wanted nothing to do with the cylons anymore, any questions ask them now "

Keeper who already knew asked first " Which models are they and where are they ?"

Lee had already moved and Kara nodded. Lee opened the hatch and followed them up front to stand by Kara.

Lee spoke up to show he agreed with Kara. He pointed to one of them " This is Boomer, the same Sharon you have always known and not long ago I trusted her with my life and she promised to bring Starbuck and Helo back to the fleet which is exactly what she had said she would do."

Lee then pointed to the other one " This is Sharon also who we now call Athena as Starbuck saw fit to name her on Caprica " he looked at Athena who nodded " Athena was given orders to make sure Helo fell in love with her so she would become pregnant, which she did " Lee paused " The cylons didn't factor in that one of their own could love a human, that was their first mistake, the second one was when they told her to kill Helo and when the baby was born she would be expermitted on, that was when she decided to take Helo and run, trying to protect him and their daughter and chose to side with us against the cylons "

Lee stepped back for Kara to step back up " I know a lot of you hate the idea of cylons being among us, but I vow on the gods I worship that Athena and Boomer can be trusted " Kara paused " They will be allowed out on the Galactia with a guard at first for their protection and yours, but if you have a problem I strongly suggest you bring it to me before acting on it, because I promise you there will be fall out, do you understand me?"

Kara and Lee both relaxed when they heard " Yes sir "

Lee stepped back up " We told you everything when we didn't have to, but Captain Thrace and I both believe we can trust all of you about this"

Roslin snorted loud enough that everyone looked her way and Lee added " Oh yeah, by the way I should tell you that as with our President some of the civilians will not like it, but the Galactica is a military vessel that is led by a man who knows to use any asset you have in a war, something the civilians don't understand "

Kara was proud of Lee for putting Roslin in her place so she said very loudly " So say we all "

Which over half the room started chanting as Roslin walked out of the room.

Commander Adama walked back up and everyone shut up " Thank you all for coming and listening today and just so there is no confusion I agree with Captain Adama and Captain Thrace they have proven time and again the lengths they will go to in order to protect their pilots and this fleet, so trust them on this too, dismissed "

After the Commander walked out most of the others did to, but Keeper, Duck, Crashdown, Racetrack, Mark and a couple of marines and deck crew hung around.

Keeper and Duck walked over to Athena and Helo , Keeper stuck out his hand " Hi Athena I'm Keeper, I just wanted to say welcome and there won't be any problems on my part "

Duck spoke next " They call me Duck and I agree with Keeper, welcome "

Athena stood a little taller " Thanks guys "

Racetrack and Mark walked over to speak to Boomer " Welcome back Boomer "

Boomer shook her hand " Thanks Racetrack, do you know if the chief was here?"

Frak Racetrack just remembered about the chief " I didn't see him " she needed to change to subject " I know you have seen Mark, but I don't know if you have met him "

Mark stuck out his hand " Thank you for helping Kara on Caprica "

Crashdown had been talking to Starbuck and Apollo when the chief suddenly slammed the door to the room open causing everyone to jump, he was headed straight for Boomer.

If any of the pilots were worried if Starbuck meant what she said about leaving the cylons alone they didn't have to wonder any more because before the chief ever reached Boomer she was already flanked by Starbuck, Helo, Apollo and Athena.

Boomer never moved she was caught up in all of the emotions coming from the chief, she saw anger, grief, and what she hoped was relief that she was alive. " Why didn't you tell me Sharon?"

Boomer sighed " Galen I didn't know until I was on the raptor and then I knew I had to help the fleet and Starbuck, I'm sorry for everything, I didn't want to be a cylon "

That's when the chief realised there were other people there and he locked eyes with Apollo " You knew and you didn't tell me " he screamed

Lee remembered that day " Chief I am sorry for not telling you, but I didn't think it was necessary to tell you that on top of telling you she was dead "

Starbuck stepped forward " Chief I need to speak to you now " and she walked away hoping he would follow

As soon as he reached her she started " Look I know some of what you feel she was one of my closest girl friends she has not changed chief she is the same person we have always known " Kara paused " She hated finding out she was a cylon and learning that the life she thought she had lived ripped away from her was tearing her apart, she is on our side here and more than that she is one of the few people I trust right now and Lee feels the same way " Kara added " If you can't accept her tell her, and if you can tell her that, plus Helo loves his Sharon, no matter what you decide she will remain here "

Kara walked over to Racetrack " Let me know if you think the pilots can't handle this? "

Racetrack nodded " Is the chief going to be okay?"

Kara sighed " Your guess is as good as mine, so what about you and Mark is there something I need to know "

Racetrack chuckled " I don't know, maybe, probably I hope so, and I guess I owe you one now"

Kara smirked " That's how the game is usually played, you know tit for tat "

Lee walked over " Kara we have to leave if we are going to the Aurora "

Lee went to talk to Helo and Athena " I hope things don't get to awkward for you "

Lee looked at Helo only to find him staring at something behind him, he turned to look and didn't see anything " What's wrong Helo?"

Helo gave Lee a quick glance " Why in the frak is that Mark guy always hugging Kara and why does he get to call her Kara?"

Athena started laughing at Lee's expression he kept looking from Helo to Mark and back. " Helo's jealous Apollo and wonders why you are not "

Lee smirked " They are friends just like Mark and I are friends "

Helo snorted " Does he pick you up and spin you around ?"

Lee laughed " Not yet, but it wouldn't surprise me "

[BREAK]**************************************************************************************************************

A.N.-I am ending this here so I can start fresh with what happens on the Aurora.

* * *

( Leave a comment )


	32. Chapter 32

A Different Beginning-Chapter 32

This story starts on the day the cylons destroyed the twelve colonies.  
Kara and Lee meet for the first time.  
The story is A.U. with a few spots of canon.

[BREAK]******************************************************************************************************************

CHAPTER-32

As Caprica stood in the base star control center she watched and listened as all of the Leobon models were being picked up and placed on base stars. She knew that Cavil would put the Leobon that was obsessed with Starbuck on their main base star.

They were leaving a lot of cylons on Caprica to deal with any unresolved issues, but not any Leobons. Caprica knew that Starbuck had gotten everyone off of Caprica and back to the fleet.

She felt someone behind her and turned to see the eight who had been with Leobon. " What do you want eight I am busy?"

Eight was nervous she wanted to ask Caprica things, but she knew the colonials had killed her " Did you know that Boomer and Athena have chosen to be with the humans?"

Caprica laughed " Kinda hard not to when they stood back and let them kill me "

Eight moved until she was standing next to Caprica " Athena and Starbuck told me some things, I want to know if they are true "

Caprica played along " What did they tell you?"

Eight looked around to make sure they were still alone " Athena and Boomer no longer believe in the cylon god, but seem to believe in Starbuck's gods, and Starbuck asked me if I had ever seen or heard anything to make me know for sure that there is a cylon god " Eight paused " I haven't, so I wanted to ask you if you knew for sure there if there is a cylon god?"

Caprica had an idea of what Athena and Starbuck was trying to let the eight know " I only know what Cavil has always told us "

Eight nodded " Starbuck also said that no god or gods would want billions of people to be murdered "

Caprica decided to meet her half-way " Boomer said the same thing to me and I have to admit it has me questioning things, but you can't ever say anything to Cavil about this, he could have you boxed "

Eight nodded, she had decided " Then I will do what Starbuck said and keep my eyes and ears open and I might find some answers "

Caprica sighed " You do that eight and let me know if you hear or see something, but I think you need to stay away from Leobon "

Eight nodded " Don't worry I had already planned on that " before she walked away she said " Thanks for listening Caprica "

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

Cavil was in the hangar deck looking at Leobon as he laid on the floor of the raider all beat up " That is what you get for not doing what I told you to " Cavil sneered " I think I will let you suffer a while longer until I get you help or kill you so you can download "

Leobon was begging " Please kill me Cavil I need to find Kara Thrace, she belongs with me "

Cavil leaned down until he was inches from Leobon's face " You are never stepping foot off of any base star again and if you do the centurions have been programed to kill you and then I will box you "

" Why?" Leobon cried

Cavil looked at him one more time " You have wasted enough of our time and resources because of your fixation on Kara Thrace and it ends now "

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

Natalie had entered the main room on the base star and stopped to watch Caprica, she seemed to be monitoring the two's as they were being brought aboard three different base stars. Natalie knew Caprica was up to something, but so far she hadn't figured it out.

She finally approached Caprica and decided to be up front about her suspicions " Caprica may I ask what you have been up to the last few days?"

Caprica glanced at Natalie before looking back to the monitors " The same thing everyone else has been doing, trying to find the rouge eight and Boomer "

Natalie sighed " You can trust me, I know that a six has been missing for the last week and even though I don't know what you are doing I have been covering for you with Cavil "

Caprica turned to face her " Natalie I can't tell you anything right now, but I need you to trust me and not mention the missing six to Cavil or anyone else " Caprica paused " I can tell you that the missing six who we now call Willow is doing something very important "

Natalie nodded " Fine, I won't say anything about Willow for now, if you will help me convince Cavil to box Leobon if he tries anything else "

Caprica cocked her head " Why do you want Leobon out of the way?"

Natalie grinned " I can't tell you that right now " she used the same excuse Caprica had.

Before either one could say anything else Cavil came storming in " We are jumping to Kobol in forty-five minutes, I think we have all of the two's accounted for "

Natalie turned to look at him " How many base stars are we taking?"

Cavil rolled his eyes " I think all we will need is this one, besides there are a lot of things left to do here on Caprica "

Caprica stayed for about five minutes before leaving the room. As soon as she found an unoccupied area she sent the message to Boomer.

Now she needed to find out what Natalie and the eight were up to.

Caprica didn't think she would miss Willow and the others as much as she did, but she had a job to do and and she intended on keeping the promise she had made to Aurora. She hoped to see them all again soon.

Caprica returned to the main room right before the jump to Kobol.

Cavil was livid and started barking out orders the second he realised the humans had already left Kobol " I want five groups of raiders sent out with three raiders to each group and don't return until you find the fleet "

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

After Lee assured Helo that Mark could be trusted he walked over to where Mark, Kara and Racetrack were talking.

Kara was asking Mark something " Where were you last night when I had CIC page you?"

Mark grinned at Kara after looking at Maggie " That's not important, all you need to know is that I will be setting everything up for the dinner tonight as soon as Maggie can fly me back to Cloud Nine "

Lee spoke up before Kara could respond " Mark can I talk to you alone for a minute?"

Kara who had been standing casually with her arms crossed dropped them to her sides " What's going on Lee?"

Before Lee could say anything Mark answered " I wouldn't ask questions Kara it might be a surprise for you "

Kara chuckled " Yeah, like I would believe that, whatever " she then turned back to talk to Racetrack

Lee stopped after they had walked far enough away that Kara couldn't here " Mark I am taking Kara to the Aurora she needs to check on someone and if Adam is still there I am going to have to tell Kara " Lee paused " Do you think Adam is ready for Kara to know about him?"

It took Mark a second " Wow Lee, I don't know, maybe " Mark looked over at Kara " It will be a huge moment for Adam, but it is going to be a very intense thing for Kara because all she knows is that he walked away from her when she was a child and now she thinks he is dead "

Lee was also watching Kara " I know, I'm scared she is going to freak out, I mean between the Aurora stuff and finding Earth or someplace else for the fleet it is already taking it's toll on her and now there is her dad "

Mark turned to face Lee " Look Lee all you can do is make sure she knows you are there for her and leave the rest of it up to the gods "

Several feet away Kara and Racetrack had been talking about Athena and Boomer " Racetrack I need to know straight up if you can accept them as part of the fleet, after what they did to us?"

Racetrack seem to think about it as she first looked at Helo and Athena then the chief and Boomer " I think I can Starbuck especially since Apollo and the Commander seem to have accepted them "

Starbuck nodded " Good, because we are going to need their help and as stupid as it sounds I trust Boomer with my life "

Racetrack grinned " Your right it sounds stupid, but I know you are not a stupid person, so that means you must have your reasons "

Starbuck smirked " Thanks I think, now I need to get Lee we have to go, I'll see you later "

Lee and Mark watched as Kara approached them "Are you ready to go Captain ?"

As Lee was saying " Let's go " Mark had grabbed Kara and hugged her tightly, surprising Kara " Are you okay Mark?" she asked trying to pull away

Mark finally let her go " Yeah, I am just glad your back " he turned to go to Maggie then stopped looking over his shoulder at her " I hope you have a good day Kara "

Kara looked at Lee " Now I know something is going on Lee, so what is it?"

Lee took her hand and started walking, but let go as soon as he saw that she was coming with him " I promise by the end of the day you will know what is going on "

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

Eloshi and Willow were in the section of the Aurora where the men and women came together for their morning prayers and meals. It wasn't a large ship, but it also wasn't the smallest in the fleet. The Aurora was home for about three hundred people and could house another hundred if it had to. All of them were religious, most of them were believers of Aurora, but not all.

Eloshi had received two calls since last night. The first was Roslin late last night asking to come to the Aurora today, but Eloshi had told her she would be off ship most of the day tomorrow and would meet her on Colonial One. The second was from Kara Thrace early this morning asking if she could come and see her and Willow. She was now waiting with Willow for Kara to show up after letting Adam know Kara would be there soon. Adam had said he would stay out of sight while they met.

Eloshi had not had to explain to anyone that Willow was a cylon simply because they did not know what the six cylon looked like. She looked across the table at Willow who kept looking at the hatchway waiting to see Kara.

Since Lee had been on the Aurora Kara followed him, she couldn't help but notice that Lee kept looking around for someone. " Lee, is everything okay?"

Lee slowly turned to look at her " Yeah, I'm just trying to remember the way to their mess hall " gods he thought, he hoped she believed him.

Kara didn't get a chance to say anything else before she heard Willow " Kara, Kara " she looked up ahead of her and saw Willow and Eloshi and headed their way.

Kara didn't get a chance to pick where she was sitting " You can sit by me Kara "

Kara had forgotten how intense Willow could be since she had only known her for a short while, after glancing at Lee who shrugged she sat by Willow " So Willow, do you like the Aurora?"

Willow got excited and started bobbing her head " I love the Aurora and Eloshi and I like Adam too "

Kara looked across at Eloshi " Who is Adam?"

Willow starting trying to answer " He is " then Eloshi cut her off " Willow would you show Apollo around why I talk to Kara?"

Lee jumped up " That is a good idea, Willow do you know how to get to the bridge?"

Willow stood up slowly " I guess so "

Although Kara knew something was up she also knew she wouldn't find out until Willow left " Go ahead Willow, I will be here when you get back "

Kara heard Lee and Eloshi let out a sigh of relief and waited until they left " What is going on Eloshi?"

Eloshi stood up " A lot we need to talk about, let's go to the Temple "

Kara followed her and waited until they sat down " What do we need to talk about?"

Eloshi turned to face Kara " Willow told me everything about you and Aurora and how she is the only one who can project Aurora "

Kara stayed calm and still " Do you believe her?"

Eloshi chuckled " Kinda hard not to when Aurora herself wants to talk to me "

Kara sighed loudly " Thank the gods, because I need your advice?"

Eloshi tilted her head " Advice about what?"

Kara glared at her " About what the frak I am supposed to do "

Eloshi reached for one of her hands and held it between both of hers " You are supposed to find your people a new home, so they can have a fresh start, a new beginning, that is your destiny Kara "

Kara lowered her head and whispered " How am I supposed to find this new home, especially when Roslin believes she is the dying leader and Pythia is supposed to guide us to Earth?"

Eloshi squeezed her hand " Look at me Kara, there will be clues that only you will recognize and Aurora has asked me to take care of Roslin and if I can't change her mind then I am to reunite the religions as one to follow Aurora's Chosen One, and before you ask, no one will know who the Chosen One is "

Kara was still looking at Eloshi " Why would she pick someone as screwed up as me for this?"

Eloshi smiled " Aurora chose you because of your strength and your strong belief in the gods, she knew before you were born that you could be a strong leader if you chose to be and you are Kara " Eloshi stayed quiet a minute " Ever since this war began Kara you have fought every step of the way for the survival of this fleet and there are people willing to follow you already " Eloshi laughed " You have even managed to change some cylons belief from their god to yours and apparently Aurora trusted your judgement and used a cylon as a bridge between you and her "

Kara turned to face the front of the Temple " Eloshi will you pray silently with me for the strength to do what Aurora has asked of me?"

Eloshi simply nodded and turned to face the front also.

[BREAK]**************************************************************************************************************

Lee waited until Willow and he had walked a couple of hatches away before pulling Willow to a stop " Willow, do you know who Adam is?"

Willow wasn't sure if she should say since it seemed like Eloshi and Lee had not wanted her to say anything " Maybe "

Lee smiled " It's okay if you do Willow, we just didn't want you to tell Kara "

Willow smiled " He is Kara's dad and I think he was sad about it "

Lee motioned for them to walk " He is sad because he is afraid Kara won't forgive him for leaving her when she was a child "

Willow paused for a step " Oh, but he had a good reason for leaving her "

Lee smiled " I know he did I just hope Kara will forgive him "

Willow looked beside her at him " She will it just might take her a little while "

Before Lee could respond he heard someone call him and he looked back into the hatchway they had just passed " Hey Adam, Willow and I were just talking about you "

Adam stayed inside not wanting Kara to see him yet " Come in here a minute, both of you "

They walked inside and Lee saw it was a pantry " Is this one of your restocking days Adam?"

Adam nodded " Where is Kara and how is her hand?"

Lee smiled " She is with Eloshi somewhere "

Willow tugged on Lee's shirt " Was the doctor able to fix Kara's hand?"

Adam spoke more urgently " Lee what happened to Kara's hand?"

Lee was trying to figure out how to explain about her hand, then Willow jumped in.

Willow faced Adam " The cylon Leobon slammed her hand in a door breaking all of her fingers and her wrist along with some busted ribs "

Adam paled " Oh my gods "

Lee wasn't sure what to say " Doc Cottle was able to re-break the bones and reset them, she should be back to flying in a couple of weeks, maybe"

Willow decided to change the subject " Adam and Eloshi talked to Aurora last night Lee "

Lee was lost in thinking of different ways to torture Leobon and almost missed what Willow said " Why would she talk to Eloshi or you Adam?"

Adam had finally caught up with the conservation " She needed to speak to Eloshi about the president and bringing all the different servants of the gods together to follow Aurora's Chosen One, I really don't know why she showed herself to me, except to tell me it was time to make my presence known and Kara would need me later "

Lee sighed " I wasn't sure if now was the time to tell Kara about you or not, but it seems Aurora thinks it is time, so how should we do this?"

Willow answered " I will stay here with Adam and Lee I think you should tell Kara that her dad is alive instead of her just running into him without some warning "

Adam agreed " She is right Lee and after you tell her let her decide when she wants to see me "

Lee nodded " Okay, but don't you think I should also tell her you have always known about her and Aurora, after all that is the reason you had to leave her?"

Willow nodded " Tell her she needs to know that, if she has to decide what to do "

Lee sighed " Fine I'll go find her now "

[BREAK]**************************************************************************************************************

Kara and Eloshi had left the Temple and was headed back to the mess hall " Eloshi I need to tell you that Lee, Adama, Roslin and myself are having dinner tonight on Cloud Nine to decide which course we are going to follow and since Aurora wants you to talk to Roslin you need to join us, especially since it looks like we are going to have to tell her Aurora's Chosen One is in the fleet, but I don't want to tell her it is me unless there is no other way "

Eloshi stopped and looked at her " Kara does the Commander know about you?"

Kara sighed " Yes, apparently Lee figured it out while I was gone although I'm still not sure how he figured it out "

Eloshi began walking again " I guess I should join you then, Aurora said if I couldn't change her mind the fleet would start dividing "

Kara barely got " Thank you " out when she heard Lee call out for her behind her.

Lee caught up with them when they stopped " Kara I need to talk to you about something very important "

Eloshi could see in his eyes what he was going to tell her " Where is Willow?"

Lee looked at Eloshi " She is in the pantry "

Eloshi looked at Kara " I am going to find Willow call me later and let me know what time I need to be there "

Kara nodded and watched her walk away then looked at Lee " Please tell me you are not going to tell me something bad, not today anyway "

Lee shrugged " I'm sorry Kara, you might not think it is to bad, at least I hope not "

Kara saw they were standing in the walk way " I guess we are on the wrong ship to get a drink, it figures, well I guess we do this sober "

Lee reached and grabbed her hand " Let's go to the Temple and talk "

Kara groaned " Why there, I just left the Temple "

Lee grinned " I was counting on you not being able to holler and cuss if we talked there "

Kara finally smirked " Let's go cause I highly doubt you could tell me anything to top Aurora or cylons changing sides, or the dinner from hades we are going to tonight "

Lee chose to not comment and walked to the Temple with her.

After they sat down Kara spoke first " Okay, hit me with it "

Lee was thinking he should have let Mark do this, maybe he could wait or stall " Kara I know about your mom, but what about your dad?"

Kara looked at him suddenly " I thought you had something to talk to me about?"

Lee looked away from her " I will in a minute, just tell me about your dad "

Kara was starting to get pissed off, so she stood up " He left when I was eight mom said it was my fault, there you happy, now frak off " and she started out of the Temple.

Lee said the only thing he could to stop her " He is alive and in the fleet "

Kara stumbled and caught herself before tripping and slowly sat down on the last pew by the door "What did you say?"

Lee got up and walked to where she was sitting and knelt down beside her laying one hand lightly on her leg " I have met him Kara, he is the one that wanted you warned about the cylons and he is the one that confirmed Aurora had chosen you "

Kara couldn't seem to form any words so she stayed silent.

Lee decided to keep talking and maybe he would say the right thing " He did leave because of you, but not for the reasons your mom had you believe " he moved his hand slightly on her leg " Only the Oracle and your dad knew about you and Aurora, and someone started trying to find Aurora's chosen one when word spread that the chosen one was alive and among the people, so your dad left to protect you, so they wouldn't connect you to him " Lee paused when he felt tears falling onto his hand " He knows other things, but he will only tell them to you "

Kara finally looked at him " When did you find out Lee?"

Lee smiled sadly " The day you jumped away I went to see Mark to pick up the letter you left and when I told him you jumped to Caprica your dad had been listening at the door and he busted up into Mark's office demanding answers " Lee chuckled " Mark and I both jumped out of our seats, he startled us so bad, anyway I then asked him who the frak he was demanding answers and that is when he told us "

Kara cocked her head " Wait are you saying Mark knew to?"

Lee shook his head " No, Mark found out when I did, we just didn't know it was Adam "

Kara looked at him funny " Lee my dad's name is not Adam "

Lee grinned " I know it is Daniel, but only you and I know that, everyone else thinks he is Adam " then Lee remembered " Willow told me Aurora talked to Eloshi and your dad last night "

Kara thought a minute " So Willow and Eloshi know he is my dad?"

Lee nodded " After last night they do " Lee added " Willow likes him a lot, she is with him now "

Kara stood up so fast Lee landed on his butt " You mean he is here right now?"

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

After leaving the pilots briefing room Helo, Athena, Boomer and the Chief went to the mess hall to eat with their security escorts Venner and Mathis.

Helo knew the Chief was still feeling awkward so he told most of what happened on Caprica with Boomer and Athena telling about some things themselves.

After thirty minutes Anders and three of his teammates entered the mess. Anders walked over to them as soon as he saw them " How are you guys doing?"

Helo answered " Grabbing a bite and telling the Chief here about our vacation on Caprica "

Anders laughed " I wouldn't recommend it as such " then he stuck his hand out to the chief " Hello I am Sam Anders, I was one of the ones these guys rescued from that hellhole of a place "

Chief shook his hand " Chief Tyrol everybody just calls me Chief though "

Anders looked at Boomer " Hey Boomer are you okay?"

Boomer was spaced out and didn't answer, so Athena reached over and touched her " Boomer what's wrong?" Athena asked loudly

Boomer all of a sudden jerked back " Where is Starbuck and Apollo?" she asked in a panic

Helo had to think " They are on the Aurora "

Boomer stood up pacing " Corporal Venner I need to speak to the commander now "

Athena jumped up " Boomer what is happening?"

Boomer saw Venner not responding so she she rounded on Galen " Chief I need you to call the CIC now "

Chief grabbed the phone in the mess and as soon as Adama was on the line he turned to Boomer " Sharon he is on the line "

Boomer wasted no time " Sir the cylons have teams out now searching and when they find the fleet they are going to jump in and target the smaller ships fast and jump out, repeating it until they have destroyed as many of the smaller ships as they can "

Boomer listened as he ordered the Aurora to be surrounded before she cut in " Sir if you do that they will know that ship is special and then they will not stop until it is destroyed "

Boomer listened then hung up " Chief the Commander said to get two raptors outfitted with weapons, Helo you are the acting CAG he said to make sure the alert vipers were ready and pull the CAP in close and Athena you get suited up for a raptor I am heading to the CIC" Boomer looked around and saw that the only people in the room besides the chief knew everything " Our priority is Starbuck, Willow and Apollo in that order, understood?"

Sam spoke up " What can we do Boomer?"

Boomer looked at the Chief " Can you use them to help out with the weapons Chief?"

Chief fell into military protocol forgetting their differences " Yes sir "

Boomer turned back to Anders " Follow the Chief and do what he tells you, now go people "

Everyone left to follow a cylons orders without thinking twice, even Venner and Mathis went with Boomer to see what they could do.

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

Lee got up off the floor while Kara was pacing " Kara he said to let you decide when and if you wanted to see him "

Kara stopped " What would you do Lee?"

Lee walked up to stand by her " I don't know Kara, but I do know our worlds have ended and you are now supposed to save us all and on top of that you just went through hell on Caprica and I'm thinking maybe your dad can help you with this destiny thing or maybe just be your dad " Lee waited before saying anything else for a while then he softly said " I like your dad Kara, he is a good guy, but I will do whatever you need me to do"

Kara was opening her mouth to say something when Willow came flying in the room " Kara you and Lee need to go to the bridge the Commander said it is urgent "

They glanced at each other once before running in a full out sprint to the bridge. Willow heard Aurora whisper " Go with them now Willow "

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

Caprica was at a loss as what to do after she warned Boomer, she knew it wasn't enough just to warn them. Caprica had gotten lucky and walked in when Cavil had ordered the smallest fleet ships to be hit and then to jump away and to continuing doing it until the fleet suffered great losses. She knew it was no way the Galactica could cover all of the smaller ships and she was worried for Starbuck and Willow.

Caprica wished she had someone she could trust on the base star, but she hadn't made up her mind about the eight or Natalie.

Eight had been watching Caprica and she could tell something was wrong, so she approached her " Caprica why is Cavil not targeting the Galactica?"

Caprica really didn't know why he was using that strategy " I'm not sure eight it doesn't make sense considering we will take losses ourselves "

Eight decided to give her opinion " He has been acting strange ever since Kobol, I think he thinks one of us warned the colonials we were coming to Kobol "

Caprica quickly turned to look at eight " Why do you think that "

Eight shrugged " He is doing something we would not normally do and if the colonials catch on then he will know it is one of us "

Caprica thought as strange as it sounded eight might be right, so if she had not told Boomer then the fleet wouldn't have changed anything and Cavil would stop thinking there was a traitor. Then if eight was wrong and the fleet wasn't warned they would have losses. Caprica needed to let Boomer hold off on doing anything until Cavil struck first if he even did and make sure Willow was on the Galactica for a while.

Caprica left the control room and headed to her personal quarters to contact Boomer.

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

Boomer was in the CIC when Caprica sent her another message, now she needed to get the commander alone. Boomer eased over by Adama and waited until he was as alone as he was going to be and whispered " Sir, I have new intel " she nodded toward the situation room.

Adama got her meaning " Colonel your in charge " and he walked into the situation room Boomer had already entered.

Boomer got right to it " Sir my contact said not to change anything she thinks Cavil knows he has a mole and is trying to flush her out, she doesn't think he will strike, but advices us to not do anything until he does " Boomer paused " She did say that if Willow is on a smaller ship she should be relocated to the Galactica until she can confirm one way or the other "

Adama had been listening it sounded plausible " Do you think that is what is going on?"

Boomer nodded " It sounds like something Cavil would do especially since he thinks we were tipped off about Kobol "

The phone rang " Adama " he answered

It was Dee frak " Sir I have Captain Thrace on the line "

Adama barked out " I want a secure line now petty officer "

Dee gritted out " Yes sir putting it through now"

" Captain Thrace relieve the Captain of the Aurora now, I need to speak to you and Captain Adama privately " Commander Adama ordered

Kara glanced at the Captain who had heard " Yes sir doing it now, wait one "

Lee pulled the door shut only after Willow insisted Aurora told her to be there, he turned and shrugged at Kara who looked at Willow and put her finger to her lips telling her to keep quite " We are clear Commander "

They listened why Adama repeated what Boomer had told him then he asked " Captain Thrace she is your mole what do you think?"

Kara cleared her throat " I agree with Boomer sir I trust her "

Adama sighed " Very well Captain, but it is up to you to find a way of getting her onto the Galactica asap, Adama out "

Kara, Lee and Willow left without saying anything letting the Captain of the Aurora back in.

They all stopped when they found an empty room.

Lee sighed " I am fresh out of ideas so I'll let you take this one Kara "

Kara noticed Willow was being extra still which was unlike her " What's wrong Willow?"

Willow shrugged " Aurora told me to go to the bridge with you when you went, but nothing happened so I don't understand "

Kara had been pacing " Okay Lee what if we suit her up in one of the pressurised suits on the raptor and figure out how to get her to your office from the raptor?"

Lee laughed " So you want to hide her in the cags office, she will go crazy in that small room, plus I sleep there "

Kara grinned " No you will be in the bunk room and Willow can sleep on your couch and I get your bed "

Willow joined in " It will be fun I can eat in there and I can read while you guys work and Boomer and Athena can visit me and I can meet your dad Lee cause I already met Kara's and I don't know when to shut up "

Kara shut her eyes " Frak I can't believe I forgot that already "

Willow felt the need to fix what she broke " I'm sorry Kara, but your dad is really nice and I like him a lot, if I could have a dad I would want one like him "

Lee needed to derail this topic " Okay let's go back to how we get her from the raptor to my office "

Kara was getting pissed again " We will stick a cap on her head then you and I will leave the raptor and have a huge fight on the hangar deck then I will punch you and Willow can sneak off the raptor while everyone watches your ass hit the deck, how about that Lee?"

Willow was laughing by the time Kara finished " I wonder if that will look as funny as it sounds?"

Even though Kara had been serious she couldn't help but grin at Willow then laughed when Lee stuck his tongue out at both of them.

Kara looked at Willow " Do you have anymore clothes besides what you have on?"

Willow looked at her clothes she had been wearing since leaving the base star " No, can I have some like you guys wear?"

Kara shrugged " I'm sure the CAG can manage to get you some " then she walked over to Lee " Willow and I are going to head to the raptor can you let my dad know I will try to see him tomorrow?"

She was so close Lee could not help but give her a quick peck on the lips " For you Kara anything " and he walked away

Kara turned to find Willow looking at her " What is it Willow?"

She smiled " Lee loves you Kara I can see it, just like I know you love him, I hope I know what that feels like one day "

Kara didn't comment on that " Let's go Willow "

* * *

( Leave a comment )


	33. Chapter 33

A Different Beginning-Chapter 33

THIS STORY IS AU WITH A FEW SPOTS OF CANON  
KARA AND LEE MEET FOR THE FIRST TIME WHEN THE COLONIES ARE DESTROYED

AS ALWAYS ALL MISTAKES ARE MINE.

CHAPTER-33

While Kara was going over the checklist for the raptor before heading back to the Galactica she had been thinking about how to get Willow off the raptor without any one seeing. She suddenly realized that if she wanted to move Willow then having Boomer and Athena on the deck would be the perfect distraction.

Kara placed a call to the Galactica's deck for Chief Tyrol. He might not have come to terms with finding out about Boomer, but he would still help, that much she was sure of. After explaining what she needed to the chief she looked around until she found Willow an abandoned Galactica sweatshirt and a cap that had been left in a slot under one of the seats in the back.

Willow had finished putting the sweatshirt and cap on right before Lee showed up. Kara closed the hatch and Lee settled into the ECO chair before asking " So Starbuck how are we going to do this?"

Kara turned to look at him and smirked a little " I had the chief set something up, the only drawback is now there is no need for me to knock you on your ass "

Willow who Kara had let sit with her in the co-pilots seat grinned " I was looking forward to that "

Lee gave Willow a stern look " It should be enough that I am giving up my office and place to sleep to the both of you, without me losing my dignity and ending up with a black eye in the process "

Kara looked at Willow and rolled her eyes " You're right Lee " she said to pacify him then she asked " How did things go with " she was trying to come up with a way of asking without having to exactly say it aloud.

Lee knew what she meant " It was okay and tomorrow will be fine "

Kara exhaled before lifting off to exit the Aurora, everyone stayed silent for the short trip until she had to ask Galactica for permission to land

" Galactia this is Starbuck requesting permission to land "

Kara and Lee both winced as they were haled "" Starbuck you are clear to land " answered Dee.

Kara spoke aloud knowing Willow couldn't and wouldn't say anything " I can't wait until she is gone Lee, I have known Dee for a while and the way she has been acting is not the same person I used to know "

Lee had finished with the controls and turned to face the front and although he was behind Kara he remarked " You know Racetrack said almost the same thing about her, but what I can't understand is why she has become obsessed with me and doesn't want me with you in any way "

Willow had been listening and even though she didn't know this Dee person she felt she should be warned " Kara you do know that if Dee poses any threat to you Aurora will make sure she is contained, so to speak "

Kara quickly glanced at Willow " What the frak do you mean Willow?"

Willow shrugged " I'm not sure Kara, except that I don't think Aurora will let your destiny be interfered with by anyone, cylon or human "

Kara waited until she set the raptor down before unbuckling and turning to her " Willow I don't want any humans hurt even Dee and you are going to tell Aurora I said so "

Willow who was unbuckled herself turned to face Lee silently pleading for him to step in.

Lee knew by the look on Willow's face she was not going to relay the message to Aurora " Kara I don't think you or anybody else has the right to tell a goddess what she should or shouldn't do "

Kara had stood up and had a sudden thought that they might end up coming to blows on the deck anyway " Why the frak not, it is my destiny, so I should have some say so over it?"

Willow didn't like seeing them mad at each other so she spoke up " I will ask her Kara, but that is all I can do " She paused " We will talk about it later so just try and stay away from this Dee woman until then "

Lee spoke up " Willow is right Kara and right now we need to get out, it looks like the chief has things handled "

They had been standing at the open hatch so Kara looked out " Willow walk with me and Lee you need to go ahead of us and make sure the way is clear " Kara paused " We will finish this conservation later "

As they walked away Kara scanned the bay and saw Boomer and Athena along with Helo making sure everyone was watching them as they walked about with their marine escorts stopping to talk to several people. She also saw that the chief had the flight and deck personal looking at him as he went over a list of things to be done right now. Kara knew that the chief was doing more than just distracting attention away from them. Kara also saw that Anders and and the two resistance men that had been with him on Caprica were also listening to the chief, she wondered what was going on.

As they walked off the deck Kara knew she would have to take the time later to process the fact her father was alive and that he knew about Aurora.

When they made it to Lee's office he put in his code to unlock it and stood to the side as Willow entered, but stopped Kara by lightly grabbing her arm " I need to change the code so only the three of us know it, any suggestions?"

Willow walked back to the door " I can remember anything, so it doesn't matter to me "

Kara was thinking " Use your viper number Lee "

Lee shook his head " That would be an easy thing to find out if someone really wanted to break in " Lee was trying to think of something else " We could use Kobol and put in the corresponding number for each letter?"

Kara nodded " That will work " and she followed Willow inside.

[BREAK]*************************************************************************************************************

Chief Tryol saw that Starbuck and Apollo were clear so he finished up. Commander Adama still wanted two raptors armed sending one out on CAP at all times. After most people walked away he saw that Sam and Boomer were still there.

Boomer wished she could make Galen understand she was still herself. She knew words would not help, but maybe her actions could, so she looked at Sam then Galen " Galen you can't say anything about what just happened " she paused " The cylon that just boarded with Starbuck and Apollo has to be protected at all costs and if you don't believe me maybe Sam can explain it to you, I need to talk to Starbuck now "

Tyrol watched her walk away before looking at Sam " Is what she said true?"

Sam nodded " Yes, look I know they are cylons, but a lot of stuff happened on Caprica and the cylons with us now and the one still with the cylons are here to protect Starbuck "

Chief was looking at Sam as he spoke and knew that he believed what he was saying " You have been fighting and killing cylons on Caprica since the colonies fell, but you trust these so easily, how is that possible?"

Sam tried to explain it as simple as he could " The first time I met Starbuck she threatened to kill me if anything happened to the cylons that were with her " He paused a second " When Starbuck got captured those same cylons were willing to do anything to find her and there is stuff I don't think I could tell you even if I understood it, except Starbuck is very important and she trusts Boomer without question and believe me when I tell you there is nothing Boomer or Athena won't do to keep her safe "

Chief chuckled " Okay I get it, although I don't understand it, but I do know that Starbuck will do what it takes to protect the fleet just like she always has and Apollo will watch her six like he always has, but who is the cylon that just snuck onto the Galactica?"

Sam sighed " All I know is that she is the most important person or cylon second only to Starbuck "

Galen's eyes widened " What the frak is going on?"

Sam shrugged " Things that is way above me or you knowing, based on what I saw on Caprica I get the feeling that if this fleet is going to survive it will be because of those two, so I decided to help them in anyway I could, without question " Sam paused " I know that you and Boomer meant something to each other and I just want you to know that Boomer is more like a person than a cylon and she is very close to Starbuck, so I wouldn't give up on her if I were you "

Just as Tyrol opened his mouth to respond an announcement was going out all over Galactica.

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

Lee had closed the hatch while listening to Kara explaining about the office and the bed and bath area to Willow. He walked behind his desk and sat down pulling out paperwork he needed to catch up on.

Kara walked over and sat in the chair in front of the desk while Willow leaned against the wall " Lee did you notice that something seemed to be going on when we were in the hangar bay?"

He looked up from the stack of papers " Yeah, it probably has something to do with why we were called to the bridge on the Aurora "

Kara never got a chance to say more before someone knocked on the hatch she looked at the hatch and back to Lee " Who do think it is?"

Lee got up " With the way things have been going it is probably someone looking for you " he stopped at the hatch and whispered " Willow go into the bedroom "

As soon as she shut the door he opened the hatch " Hey Apollo is Starbuck still here?"

Lee motioned her in " I told you it was for you Kara "

Kara didn't get up, but she still had her head turned towards the door " What's up Boomer "

Boomer was looking around " Where is Willow?"

Lee was just about to knock on the bedroom door when Kara hollered " Come on out Willow! "

Lee shook his head and before sitting back down asked Boomer " Do I need to leave?"

Boomer looked from Willow who had just walked out to Lee " No I need to tell you both something "

Lee sat back down, Willow went back to the wall she had been leaning against, and Boomer walked up to the desk and sat down on the edge so she was sorta facing them both " I thought I should explain in person to you about what is happening. Caprica contacted me and said Cavil was going to jump in and out attacking the smaller ships hoping to cause the fleet a lot of lives, but minutes later she contacted me again saying she thought Cavil was just claiming he was going to do it hoping to flush out the mole on his base star and said we should not do anything different until he made the first move "

Willow straightened up " I'm worried about Caprica she is alone with no one to help her "

Lee had to admit it would be a sure way of finding out he had one a mole, but " He might learn he has one, but how would he be able to find out exactly who it is?"

Boomer shrugged " He might not find out right away, but he won't stop until he does and I have no doubt it will probably be sooner than we think"

Kara was worried about Caprica to, but there wasn't anything she could do about it " I assume you told the Commander all of this since he contacted me, what is he going to do?"

Boomer shrugged " I don't know I was called down to the hangar deck by the Chief and I haven't been back to the CIC yet "

Willow walked up to the desk " Boomer where are your guards?"

Boomer actually caught herself about to look around " The last time I saw them they were in the hangar bay, I just assumed one of them would follow me "

Before anything else was said the comms crackled " The following people are to report to situation room one now, Boomer, Athena, Helo, Starbuck, Anders and Apollo "

Kara stood up " Why in the frak would they want Anders?"

Lee stood also " I'm guessing he knows a lot about what has been and is going on and the Commander will want to make sure he doesn't run his mouth "

Boomer nodded " I agree "

Kara walked over to Willow " While we are gone you will not open this hatch for anyone, do you understand?"

Willow looked over at Lee and saw him roll his eyes, she smiled " I understand Kara, now go all of you and Boomer come by later if you get a chance "

Boomer still had a hard time adjusting to Willow, she was so different from the other sixes " I will Willow "

They all three left heading to the situation room.

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

Helo and Athena were still on the hangar deck when the order came out over the comms. They didn't waste time any time and set out immediately to the situation room only stopping when Anders jogged up next to them " Mind if I tag along I have no idea where I am going?"

Athena answered while they continued to walk " Sure, we are all going to the same place anyway "

Helo looked at Athena " Do you know what is going on aside from the initial contact from Caprica?"

Athena shrugged " No, Boomer probably knows more about what is going on than anybody else "

They walked in to find Boomer, Starbuck, and Apollo already sitting down so they joined them.

Helo was sitting across from Kara and he knew something was different with her " Kara, is everything okay with you?"

Kara's eyes jumped to Helo's, she wanted to tell him, but now wasn't the time so she snorted " Things haven't been okay with anybody in a long time Karl "

He simply nodded knowing something was up " You're right "

Lee and Anders were looking at each other trying not to be obvious about it, except Athena caught it " Captain Adama have you met Sam Anders from Caprica?"

Lee looked at Athena " Not really "

Before she could say more Commander Adama walked in, he looked at each of them before sitting down " I think it is time to get all of our ducks in a row " he paused looking at Anders " Captain Thrace how much does Sam Anders know?"

Kara looked around the table wondering how much any of them knew cause to her it seemed chaotic " I have no idea Commander, I was taken hostage for a while and frankly sir I'm not sure who knows what including myself "

Adama sighed " Okay who doesn't know about " he stopped, trying to find a way of asking without giving it away" When it comes to you personally Starbuck who in this room doesn't know?"

Helo knew what he wanted to know " Sir, Anders doesn't know the specifics of what you are wanting to know, but he knows a lot of it "

Adama sighed " Okay let's try this, whoever believes in the gods and I don't mean god raise your hands "

Kara chuckled when every body's hand shot up except Adama's " You didn't raise yours sir "

Adama gave her an I'm not in the mood look " I know Captain that's because I don't believe in them, put your hands down "

Kara snorted " When the man in charge doesn't believe it, then it makes this a very twisted meeting "

Adama took off his glasses and sighed " This whole situation is twisted, but we need to figure out what to do before our meeting with the president, we need to run through it together this time, so Starbuck should Anders be here or not?"

Kara didn't have a clue " Sir I think Boomer should decide that, she knows everything about me and my situation so I trust her judgement on rather Anders should stay or go "

Helo spoke up " I agree with Starbuck "

Adama picked his glasses up " Fine, Boomer what do you think?"

Boomer looked at Anders across the table " Sam if you stay you will have no choice but to do exactly what the Commander and Starbuck ask of you and you can't tell anyone about anything except for the people in this room, your either in or you are out "

Sam didn't know everything, but he somehow sensed that their survival rested on Starbuck's shoulders " I'll stay as long as I am able to help all of you, especially Starbuck "

Kara spoke up " That's fine as long as you know that everyone in this room outranks you, even though you are not military it means you answer to all of us " Kara paused and turned to look at Lee " Apollo is there anything you need to say before we continue?"

Lee looked at her " Not about Anders, I'm sure you and Boomer know what you are doing " Lee turned to look at his dad " Commander if you don't believe us then what is the point of this meeting?"

Adama stood up pacing " Just because I don't believe doesn't mean it is not true " he looked at Kara " We need to find out who has the most evidence in regards to Pythia and Aurora before we confront the President " he walked around the table until he was facing Lee " Captain since we have no idea how to find earth we are left with only two choices Pythia or Aurora, so it doesn't matter what I believe "

Kara spoke before any one else could " Sir, at this point I don't want Roslin to know about my connection to Aurora, so I invited Eloshi to eat with us hoping she can convince the president without disclosing that fact " she took a minute to look at Lee " As I stated before, for right now we are going the right way, but that could change at any moment "

Lee spoke before his dad could respond " I think we need to go over everything like you said while we are all together, then we can decide how much we can tell Roslin "

Adama sat back " Okay who wants to start?"

By the end of the discussion, the people in the meeting all knew the same thing causing silence in the room as they each absorbed the information.

Adama finally broke the silence " Boomer I want you working in the CIC since you are the one the mole contacts and don't worry I have already briefed the people in CIC about you " he then looked at Athena " Since you have never served in the Colonial forces you will have to join before being trained on flying raptors and will fly them until Cottle says otherwise " he then turned to Anders " Since you are a part of this situation now I am placing you with Chief Tyrol so you are in a position to help when something comes up involving the deck "

Sam needed to know something " Sir shouldn't Chief Tyrol be told something because he could help faster than I could?"

Adama sat forward " I think enough people know already, so no "

Sam nodded " I understand sir, but there were two of my men with me when we were looking for and found Starbuck, what are you going to do about them?"

Boomer added " I can make the chief understand without giving anything away with Helo's help and also see if he can use Ander's men, sir "

Adama looked at Helo who nodded his consent " Fine I will let the two of you handle it "

Lee knew they needed to discuss Willow " Commander we need to make sure Willow is protected at all times, but at the same time no one can find out about her, she is too important and I don't trust our people enough to let them know about her "

Kara blurted out " We can hide her in plain sight "

Athena gasped " We can't do that she will be noticed "

Boomer agreed with Starbuck " Willow already acts different than any cylon I know, we can cut her hair and color it and it might work, besides she can't stay locked up in Apollo's office "

Lee reached for Kara's arm causing her to look at him " What are you thinking Kara?"

Kara smirked " I think she should work for Mark and stay in the spare room he has "

Lee sputtered " Kara that is Adam's room "

Kara looked directly at him " Not anymore, plus we know we can trust Mark to watch over her " she looked around before continuing " I know how much we need her, but we have jobs to do and things to figure out and we can't keep shuffling her around, plus I don't think any cylon will sit and eat in any restaurant "

Lee finally agreed " Okay, but we keep her until Mark has everything set up, besides I think she was looking forward to staying where she is "

Kara chuckled " Lee we can't keep her she is a grown cylon, not a teenager "

Adama chuckled listening to them and he intended on spending some time with her himself " I will be keeping one guard each on you and Athena until we can be sure there will be no problems Boomer " he stood up " This meeting is adjourned for now, and nothing that was said leaves this room " he turned to Kara " Captain Thrace I need you and Boomer to come with me to the planning room now "

Kara stood up and waited until the room emptied before turning to Lee " Can you get Willow something to eat and stay with her until I get there "

Lee grabbed one her hands and entwined it with his " Yes, I need to eat also and I have paperwork to catch up on "

Kara chuckled " Lee we are going to be in a restaurant in a couple of hours are you sure you want to fill up on algae?"

Lee pulled her closer and kissed her slowly before stopping to look at her " Thanks for reminding me, I don't know what I would do without you around Kara "

Kara looked at him for a long moment before whispering " That is something I pray neither of us ever has to find out " she hugged him before quickly heading off to the planning room.

[BREAK]**************************************************************************************************************

When Kara reached the planning room Adama and Boomer had out maps of the area they were now in.

Adama looked up when Kara entered " Captain Thrace we need to plan an offensive attack in the event that your mole can give us a location of any base stars near us "

Boomer agreed except for " Commander we can't destroy the main base star not only because of Caprica our mole, but also because Cavil now has the Leobon that is obsessed with Starbuck "

Kara looked at Boomer " You think if he downloads Cavil will lose control of him?"

Boomer nodded " Yes I do "

Kara walked up to the table " I disagree, we already know that Caprica can filter her memories if she is killed and it would seem strange if we didn't try to destroy any base star that showed up, so we can't take that chance "

Adama agreed " Starbuck is right and I'm sure your mole would agree " he paused and looked directly at Boomer " You need to tell us the best way to destroy a base star and we need to react normally just as your mole suggested "

Before Boomer could respond the claxons went off setting the ship at condition one, they all went to the CIC

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

They all three showed up in the CIC and while the Commander went to the console Boomer and Starbuck stood just inside.

Adama immediately took over " I need a sitrep, now "

Colonel Tigh walked to stand beside him " We had three cylon raiders show up on dradis then they disappeared "

Without turning Adama called out " Starbuck you and Boomer get over here now "

As soon as they appeared he looked at Boomer " Do you think this is what your intel meant?"

Boomer nodded and answered as low as she could " Yes sir and now we will find out what Cavil is up to "

Adama asked " Meaning what exactly?"

Starbuck answered " Since we don't have the smaller ships covered and he attacks the Galactica we will know he was trying to flush out a mole " Kara paused " Either way we need to attack just as we always do "

Colonel Tigh had no idea what was happening with Adama lately " Sir, Starbuck is wrong because normally we would be jumping away not sitting here waiting to be attacked "

Adama had been so caught up in other things for a moment he had forgotten " You're right Colonel, have the fleet prepare jump, but we are staying a bit longer than usual "

Colonel Tigh spoke louder than he meant to " Commander if we don't jump with the fleet and something happens they will be left unprotected "

Starbuck knew Tigh was right " I agree with the Colonel, but I would like to stay behind with one of the armed raptors, so that we will know what Cavil had planned "

Adama snapped his head to look at her " Starbuck you can't fly with that broken hand, so it is not going to happen " Adama then turned to Boomer " You can't stay either you are to valuable at this point "

Frak Kara thought he was right " We need to leave someone and even though Athena is not military yet her and Helo are our only choice at the moment, they know what to look for "

Adama finally relented " You have five minutes to get them into a raptor before we jump, I'll will have the coordinates for our jump sent to the raptor "

Starbuck took off running to the hangar bay as word went out over the comm for Athena and Helo to report to the bay. The first person she spotted was Anders and without stopping she asked " Do you know where the armed raptors are?"

Sam wanted to ask what was happening, but somehow he knew not to " One is on CAP and the other is right over there " he had pointed to the back of the hangar.

Starbuck nodded " Cap is going to be recalled we are jumping, but I need that raptor ready to leave this ship in the next two minutes, have someone power it up and tell them I ordered it "

Kara went to meet Helo and Athena when they entered the bay " I need to talk fast, so listen then do what I say, got it "

They both nodded knowing she was serious.

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

Kara went by Lee's office to fill him in on what was happening. After that she changed the subject " Helo will be off tonight and I think Athena and him should stay with Willow until we get back from Cloud Nine "

Willow who was sitting in the extra chair at the desk stood up to face Kara " Lee told me that you think I should stay on Cloud Nine and work for your friend Mark "

Kara should have known Lee would put this all on her, after cutting her eyes at him she responded " It is a large ship Willow and I think you will be safer there and yes you need to help Mark out since he will be providing you with a room all to yourself "

Willow nodded " I trust you Kara so I will go, but how do I get in touch with you if Aurora pops up?"

Lee answered her " Mark knows about Aurora, just tell him you need to speak to Kara and he will place the call "

Kara went to stand by Lee who pulled her between his legs after spinning his chair to face her " When will you be back on flight rotation Lee?"

Lee sighed " Second shift tomorrow, why?" at that moment the Galactica jumped.

Kara pulled away " Just wondering, I have to head back to the situation room, so I probably won't see you until it is time to go "

Lee grabbed her hand before she could walk away " Kara you are going to have to talk to your dad at some point "

Kara pulled her hand away " I know Lee, but I really don't have time to see him right now "Kara walked to the hatch and stopped turning to Willow " I will see you when I get back from the meeting, just remember you have the couch the bed is mine "

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

Adama and Boomer had beat her to the situation room again " Have we heard from Helo and Athena yet?"

Adama didn't bother looking up " Not yet it might be awhile " then he did look at her " I hope we have everything ready for the meeting with President Roslin "

He reminded her that she had not called Eloshi " I need to let Eloshi know what time to be there she is our best hope when it comes to dealing with the president "

Adama agreed " You can use the phone in here to call her "

While Kara was doing that he needed to know what Boomer thought " Which cylons do you think will stick with Cavil for sure?"

Boomer sighed " I know Doral and Dianna will for sure and Leobon will try and side with whoever can get him close to Starbuck "

Adama stood up from bending over the table " So that leaves the eights, the sixes and Simon the fours, did I get that right?"

Boomer nodded " Yes, although I am not positive about the fours, but I do think they were getting fed up with trying to get the human females on Caprica pregnant especially after Athena got pregnant on her own "

Kara had finished her call and had been listening " It looks like the cylons will split having three on each side cause I don't think either one will want Leobon "

Boomer shrugged " As much as Cavil is tired of the two's he would use them to break a tie, which reminds me Caprica said Natalie wanted Leobon boxed, but she doesn't know why "

They all stopped talking to listen to Helo whose raptor Adama had patched into the situation room " Galactia, Helo requesting permission to land "

Colonel Tigh answered since Adama had explained he was slowly taking Petty Officer Dualla out of the loop " Permission to land Helo and you and Athena are to report to situation room one, Galatica out "

Tigh glanced over at Dee and he could tell she was pissed off even though she was trying to hide it. Tigh wished he knew the real reason Adama was shutting her out, even though he knew his Commander would have a good reason.

Helo and Athena made it to the situation room.

Adama asked " What happened after we left?"

Athena answered " Caprica was right when she said Cavil was bluffing about finding the mole because two base stars jumped in to attack not three cylon raiders "

Boomer wasn't sure if she had told anyone " It was the eight with Leobon that tipped Caprica off to Cavil's plan "

Kara couldn't deal with the cylons, Aurora, the president and her dad all at the same time " Look the eight is both of you two's sister, so you need to decide if Caprica can trust her, I have to much else to deal with right now "

They were all silent until Helo spoke up " Starbuck's right you two would know best " Helo turned to Adama " Sir I need to speak to Captain Thrace alone, it is personal "

Kara was glaring at him she knew what he wanted.

Adama nodded " You are both dismissed "

[BREAK]**************************************************************************************************************

Kara stormed out and didn't stop until she found an empty corner and turned on Helo " Why in the frak did you do that we were in the middle of something?"

Helo didn't budge " We are always going to be busy Kara, but I know when something personal is bothering you and I want to know what it is?"

Kara didn't back down either " It is none of your business Helo "

Helo snorted " I have known you longer than anyone in this fleet, plus if you don't tell me I am going to ask Apollo "

Kara took a deep breath " That is low Helo " she sighed knowing he wouldn't give up " I found out today that my dad is alive and knows all about Aurora and me "

Helo grinned " I am happy for you Kara, what did he say?"

Kara turned away from him " I don't know I haven't seen him yet, but apparently Lee and Mark are close with him "

Helo quit smiling " Kara you need to talk to your dad especially since he knows about Aurora, but I want to know how you became so close with this Mark guy so fast?"

Kara smirked " We are just friends and I set him up with Racetrack, but don't worry Helo you will always be my best friend "

Helo laughed " I had better be, I still can't believe you of all people is a chosen one "

Kara laughed " Neither can I believe me, now I need to get ready for the meeting with the president, I'll see you later Helo "

Helo watched her walking away and was afraid she may not realise how much the safety of the fleet was relying on her.

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

Kara had showered and dressed into her dress blues in Lee's office/bedroom and had made plans to meet him in the courtyard on Cloud Nine where they had their water fight. She knew he arrived here before she did because the shuttle pilot had told her when she asked. She waited ten more minutes before heading into the restaurant hoping he was already there.

As she walked in she saw the Commander was there which meant he had already had Dee removed off of the Galactica. Kara was worried about Lee, but she didn't want to start a panic until she knew for sure something was wrong. Kara tuned in in time to hear Eloshi.

The table was quiet so Eloshi spoke up " Madame President you know that I believe in Pythia, but something tells me this time we have to follow Aurora not Pythia "

Roslin gasped " Why are you changing your mind now?"

Eloshi sighed " Aurora's chosen one is in the fleet and it is her time to help us "

Roslin turned to Adama who was watching Kara " Commander you can't believe this about Aurora "

Adama turned to look at her " I would rather not have to follow any gods since I don't believe in them, but with that being said there is more evidence to support Aurora than Pythia "

Roslin nearly shouted " How do you know have you seen Aurora?"

Eloshi calmly answered " I have seen and talked to her "

Adama kept watching Kara finally he asked " What's wrong Kara?"

Kara turned to look at him worry covering her face " Lee is never late commander, something is wrong "

Adama knew that about Lee himself, so he ordered all ships to stop flights and lock down.

[ A.N.-The rest of this chapter is on chapter the next page ]

* * *

( Leave a comment )


	34. Chapter 34

A Different Beginning-Chapter 34

THIS STORY IS A.U. WITH SPOTS OF CANON.  
KARA AND LEE MEET FOR THE FIRST ON THE DAY THE COLONIES WERE DESTROYED.

AS ALWAYS ANY MISTAKES ARE MINE.

CHAPTER-34-A.N.-THIS IS THE REST OF THE CHAPTER I MEANT TO POST YESTERDAY, SORRY!

[BREAK]****************************************************************************************************************

After Adama had placed the call telling Colonel Tigh to stop all flights and lock down all ships he and Kara remained in Mark's office trying to figure out what had happened to Lee.

Kara spoke first " Did you remove Dee from the Galactica?"

Adama looked at her " Yes to the Aria, they really did need someone in communications, why what are you thinking?'

Kara shrugged " It's probably nothing, but I think you should find out if she arrived there, then we need Boomer to check with Caprica to make sure the cylons don't have him, even though I don't think they do "

Kara paced while Adama made the calls trying to think of where to look next.

Adama hung up " Caprica says they don't have him and the Captain of the Aria said Dee arrived there about thirty minutes late "

Kara stopped pacing " We need help, I am going to get Mark and have him call the Aurora "

Adama stopped her " He is either on this ship or they had enough time to move him to another one, but why would they take him?"

Kara had her suspicions " It might be the civilians, because of us having cylons free on Galactica "

Adama got up and left the office " The president better hope she is not behind this "

Kara found Mark working in the back " Hey, can I talk to you in your office?"

Mark nodded " I'll be there in a minute, I need to finish with this order "

Kara tried to sit, but went back to pacing.

Mark walked in " What's going on?"

Kara stopped and faced him " The commander and I used your office to place some calls, Lee is missing Mark and I don't know where to look for him or have any idea who has him " by the end tears were falling

Mark went to her and held her " We will find him Kara I promise, now what can I do?"

Kara pulled back and wiped her eyes " I haven't saw my dad yet and I was hoping you would call him and let him know what has happened, maybe he has connections in the fleet that could help us "

Mark went to the phone " There is some ambrosia on the table if you need a drink, and pour me one if you don't mind "

Kara nodded, a drink is just what she needed, besides she didn't want to listen to Mark talk to her dad.

Mark finished the call " Adam said he hasn't heard anything about it, but he would check with contacts he has on other ships and call us back "

Kara handed Mark his drink and sat across the desk from him " We need to find out who hates the fact that we have cylons on board the Galactica, they are the ones who probably have Lee "

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

Adama headed straight for the table where Eloshi and Roslin were sitting.

Eloshi looked up " Have you found Apollo, commander?"

Adama sat down and looked first at Eloshi " No we haven't " then he glared at Roslin " Do you know where he is Roslin?" he asked in a barely constrained voice.

Roslin glared right at him " No I do not Commander and don't you ever accuse me of something like that again "

Kara walked up " They have finished their search of this ship " Kara paused " I need a few marines to go with me to the Prometheus, that has to be where they are holding him, sir "

Adama watched her for a moment and knew she was barley holding it together " I will send some marines over there Kara, but I need you to go over this ship again more thoroughly than before "

Kara looked down at him " Why sir?"

Adama had her sit down " The more I think about it I don't think anyone would have had time to move him off of this ship even if he was drugged, I think you should go over the sign-in sheet and check out any names that seem suspicious and any women registered alone "

Kara looked hopeful " You think they kept him here to throw us off "

Adama nodded " I do, be careful Starbuck and take someone you trust with you " he looked around the table " We will finish this meeting later, after I find my son "

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

Lee woke up with his hands and feet tied and a blind fold on as well as a gag. He knew he was in a bed he just didn't know where. All he could remember is a woman asking him for help as soon as he stepped off the shuttle. Lee looked at his watch and knew he had about at least twenty minutes before Kara would arrive.

Lee looked at the woman who had long blond hair tied back in a pony tail and he could tell she had been crying " What has happened?"

The woman grabbed his jacket and pulled him towards the garden area " My daughter was playing here and one minute she was here and the next she was gone "

Lee stopped and politely removed her hand " Did you check with security here on Cloud Nine?"

She nodded and started crying again " Show me the last place you saw her " Lee figured the kid might just be hiding for the fun of it.

She nodded " I am Shevon and my daughters name is Pyaya and it was over there " She led him to the edge of the lawn in the corner, out of view and before Lee could react someone had knocked him out cold.

That was all he remembered. Lee knew his dad and Kara probably thought the cylons had him or worse that he was dead. He wish he knew what this woman hoped to gain by doing this.

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

Shevon needed money and what the woman had paid her to do was twice what Palen would have paid her. One part of the plan had been accomplished, now she just had to wait for the right moment for the next part of the plan. So she sat beside the sign in desk waiting, although they had knocked on her door once before the security moved on without checking her room knowing what she did to make money.

Shevon almost hated this as much as she hated working for Palen. She wished she knew what the woman hoped to gain by all of this. When Shevon had been asked she tried to turn it down because it was a colonial officer, but the woman assured her the commander would not want this made public, so she agreed.

Shevon saw a woman come to the desk dressed just like the man had been and she knew this was who she was waiting on. Shevon waited long enough to hear the woman ask for a guest list before making her way back to the room. She knew she had enough time to drug him and it take affect before the woman from downstairs made it to her room.

She pulled the blindfold off after mixing the drug in a fruit juice drink to disguise the taste, then she removed the gag and told him to drink which he did only because he was so thirsty, later he would regret that he did. Right now though as his thoughts became foggy he watched her undress which made him want to touch her.

As she watched him struggle she knew he was close to being ready, so she made sure the door was slightly ajar before untying his hands which immediately went to her breasts. After letting him fondle her breasts a bit longer she moved to untie his feet and in a move which surprised Shevon he grabbed her and rolled them on the bed until he was on top. She never thought she would want to willing be with a man again after she had been forced to in able to survive, but this man was turning her on.

In Lee's fuzzy mind he thought he was with Kara so after tenderly kissing her he left her lips to suck on her neck as she was desperately trying to get his pants off. Lee raised up enough that she used her foot to push them down and right before he was able to enter her the door crashed open making Shevon jump. Lee never looked back " Get out and shut the frakking door "

Kara calmly walked over to the bed and grabbed the hair at the back of his head pulling it away from the woman's neck making Lee face her " I will let your father know you are alive and I can promise you this door " she placed her hand to her heart " will be closed forever from you " then she let go and left the room. Kara had been standing at the open door when Lee moved the woman under him and then her heart broke when he kissed her so tenderly and after another heart breaking moment she busted in not being able to take anymore.

When Kara left the room she had ran into Mark who had been helping her check rooms. Mark saw the pale look on Kara's face and moved toward her as she ran to him wrapping her arms around him sobbing.

Mark had never seen her like this " What happened Kara?"

Kara kept her head against him as she answered " Lee is fine he apparently lost track of time while fraking some woman I have never seen "

Mark pulled back to look at her " Kara something else is going on, Lee loves you and he would never hurt you like that "

Kara completely shut down and backed away from him " You would not say that if you saw what I did, I am going back to the Galactica "

Mark watched her walk away before going to the room she had just left pounding on the door until a woman dressed in a sheer gown opened the door " Where is Lee?" she pointed towards the bed and started to leave, but Mark grabbed her arm " You are not leaving until you explain what in the frak is going on, now sit down "

After she sat down Mark walked over to the bed to find Lee sitting on the edge of the bed with his head between his legs " Lee why in the gods name did you do this to Kara?"

Lee looked up " I don't know " he sobbed " I don't know what happened Mark I thought I was with Kara "

Mark looked over at the woman then back at Lee " So you didn't bed this woman willing?"

Lee jerked his head up to look at Mark " No, I would never cheat on Kara "

Mark didn't think he would, so that meant the woman was up to something.

Mark got up and went over to her " You are going to tell me everything or I will make sure you end up on the Astral Queen "

Shevon looked into his eyes and knew he spoke the truth " A woman approached me a few days ago saying she might need me to frame someone, I wouldn't have agreed, but she offered twice the money I usually make "

Mark looked back at Lee to see him in the same position he had left him in " What else? "

Shevon also glanced at Lee " She told me she wanted it to look like he had been taken and that when the woman came to search the rooms, to drug the man and leave the door open so she would catch him in bed with me "

Mark had to know " What did the woman look like?"

Shevon thought a minute " She was short and had dark skin and even though she wasn't in uniform this time, she was the first time she met with me "

Mark got up and placed a call to the restaurant asking for Commander Adama " Lee is okay, but I need you to put a woman that was involved in the brig until we find out everything "

Adama was worried " Kara ran in and said Lee was alright then she took off running out of here, I am worried about her "

Mark whispered " So am I, just send me two marines and I will take care of Lee and the woman while you check on Kara before she does something bad "

Adama agreed " I will send them now and thanks Mark"

When Mark hung up he went to make Lee get dressed, Mark could tell that he was still feeling the effects of the drug " Lee hurry up the marines will be here in a minute "

Oh gods Lee was shocked when Kara had yanked on his head, because he was sure that she was beneath him on the bed. Lee also knew she would never forgive him, he choked back another sob then looked at Mark " I can't face anyone right now Mark, but the woman she described is Dee she was a petty officer on the Galactia until earlier today, tell my father and he will have her arrested also "

Mark watched Lee start to leave " Where are you going Lee?"

Lee turned around " If you don't mind I am going to hang out in Adam's room for a while or at least until I am able to process the fact that I have lost Kara forever "

After Shevon watched and heard the man she had set up, she looked at Mark " I'm sorry I never thought I would hurt someone that bad?"

Mark had no pity for her " Yes, you hurt two people whose love I have never seen matched before, but more than that you have quite possibly caused this entire fleet to suffer by listening to a deranged woman who had to be removed from the Galactica because she was rejected by the same man she had you set up "

[BREAK]*************************************************************************************************************

Kara was so upset she had to find a restroom to get herself under control before going to the hangar bay. She couldn't help wondering why Lee would do this to her, to them. Kara was finally able to block it away enough to order a raptor for herself only. After lifting off she realised the last place she wanted to go was to the Galactica so she headed to the Aurora to see her dad, that she thought had been dead since she was eight.

After getting clearance she landed and after shutting the raptor down she went to the temple first. At least in there she would have time to be alone. Kara had no idea how long she sat there before she felt someone standing behind her. She slowly turned her head and looked up into her dad's eyes and then the tears she had held back began to fall and this time she couldn't stop them.

Adam ( Daniel) sat down beside her and opened his arms and was shocked when she fell into them and held her as her tears turned into sobs. Neither one of them said anything for a long time.

He pulled back slowly " I am sorry I left you Kara, but it was the only way to keep you safe and I knew you would survive the destruction of the colonies "

Kara pulled away completely " You knew what would happen and you didn't warn anyone?" she asked angrily

Adam looked away a moment then back " Kara I was told that by an Oracle and she didn't even know when it would happen, do you really believe the government or anyone else would believe me or an Oracle?"

Kara didn't have an answer for that mainly because he was right " What else?"

Her dad looked at her and reached for her hand to hold it, so she let him " I always kept an eye on you until you joined the academy and when I found out you would be flying Vipers I got a job on Cloud Nine in case the war broke out " he paused " I knew you would survive it because of Aurora, so that is why I took the job in the hopes I would to, so I could help you with your destiny "

Kara stayed silent for a while then asked " I am tired is there somewhere I can rest without being bothered?"

Adam wanted to ask why she wasn't going back to the Galactica and where had Lee been, but he wanted her here so he didn't ask " I have a small room by the pantry where I stay when I am restocking, you can stay there "

Kara stood up " Show me where and we can talk more later " even seeing her dad couldn't stop the pain she was feeling.

As soon as her dad left she fell into the bed and she cried herself to sleep with the images of Lee and that woman together.

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

* * *

( Leave a comment )


	35. Chapter 35

A Different Beginning-Chapter 35

THIS IS AN A.U. STORY WITH BITS OF CANON IN IT.

KARA AND LEE MEET FOR THE FIRST TIME ON THE DAY THE COLONIES WERE ATTACKED.

AS ALWAYS ALL MISTAKES ARE MINE.

A.N.-PLEASE REMEMBER THAT MY KARA AND LEE ARE DIFFERENT, BECAUSE THEY MET ON THE DAY THE WORLD ENDED AND THEREFOR DO NOT HAVE ANY BAGGAGE BETWEEN THEM.

[BREAK]******************************************************************************************************************

CHAPTER-35

As soon as Mark had handed Shevon off to the marines he went to his office to place a call to the Commander.

Adama had just made it back to the CIC when the call came in from Mark.

Adama picked up the phone " This is Commander Adama, what's happening now Mark?"

Mark sighed " Commander, Lee is staying in the extra room I have here and I thought if I didn't tell you what happened neither would Lee or Kara"

Adama turned away " What happened Mark?"

Mark hoped Kara and Lee would forgive him " The officer you had removed off of the Galactica earlier today paid a working woman from the Prometheus to kidnap and drug Lee in order to set it up where Kara would walk in on them while they were having intimate relations and she did and saw it all "

Adama's face turned red and not because of Lee and the woman, but because of Dee " I'll take care of it Mark, thank you "

Mark hesitated " There is one more thing that needs to be done sir, Lee needs a doctor to test him for drugs, so there will be proof before they wear off, and the Doctor needs to come here, Lee is in no shape to see anyone tonight "

Adama was becoming more and more grateful that Lee had a friend like Mark " I will send Cottle over now, is there anything else?"

Mark sighed " How is Kara doing?"

Adama turned back around " Wait a second Mark " he turned to Gaeta " When did Starbuck land?"

Gaeta looked up " Sir, Starbuck has not landed yet "

Frak Adama thought " Mark she is not here and I have no idea where to start looking "

Mark did " Commander she is probably on the Aurora she was in pretty bad shape herself, I will call and make sure and if she's not there I will let you know "

" Thanks again Mark and keep an eye on Lee for me " Adama cut the line and turned to the two marines standing guard in the CIC " I want you two to go to the Aria and arrest Petty Officer Dualla and stick her in the brig until I say otherwise "

Colonel Tigh spoke up " The marines from Cloud Nine are on the deck with some woman "

Adama almost shouted " Tell them to throw her in the brig also "

Colonel Tigh answered another incoming call for Adama wondering what was going on " Commander the president is on the line "

Adama growled before snatching the phone from Tigh " This had better be important, I have a lot of things going on "

Roslin stated calmly " Is it true that you have a civilian in the brig commander?"

Adama wanted so badly to hang up on her " Yes it's true and she will remain there until I say otherwise "

Roslin was getting angry " What is the reason for you locking her up, she is a civilian not military?"

Adama did shout this time " She was paid to destroy two of my officers and the officer that hired her is on her way to the brig also "

Roslin wouldn't let it go " Shevon has a child that needs taking care of "

Adama snorted " Then Madame President I suggest you find someone else to take care of the child or you can do it yourself, because her mother will not be leaving here anytime soon " then he hung up and walked out of the CIC

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

Adama walked down to life station to explain things to Cottle in person. After he finished he called the chief to get a raptor ready and walked down with Cottle. On the way he also explained about Dee " I need a physic eval done on her so I will know which charges I can bring against her "

Doc Cottle snorted " I didn't see that coming "

Adama sighed " Lee and Kara did, but we thought removing her from this ship would take care of things "

They stopped talking when they made it to the raptor " Tell Lee I am taking him off the roster tomorrow and if he needs anything to let me know "

Cottle nodded " Where is Starbuck?"

Adama shook his head " I'm not really sure, maybe the Aurora "

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

Adama watched until they cleared the bay and he remembered Willow, even though he had not met her he knew he needed to check on her with Lee and Kara off ship for the night.

He knocked on Lee's hatch several times before hearing her " Whoever you are I can't let you in, Kara said I couldn't "

Adama chuckled " Willow I am Commander Adama Lee's dad and I need to make sure you are okay, Kara and Lee probably won't be back tonight"

Willow wondered what happened " Are they okay?"

Adama figured he was going to have to talk through the door until Boomer walked up " What's going on Commander?"

Adama turned " I'm glad you showed up, I need to speak to Willow, but she won't open the door and Lee has changed the code "

Boomer stepped up and knocked " Willow it's me Boomer will you open the door?"

Willow walked up to the door " You know Kara told me not to Boomer "

Adama shrugged and tried again " Something happened with Lee and Kara and I would rather talk to you in private about it "

Boomer could tell by Adama's face it was serious " Willow open this door now, Kara will understand "

Willow opened the door and went to stand behind Lee's desk as Boomer and a man who must be Lee's dad walked in.

Adama walked up to the desk " Hello Willow, I am Lee's dad "

Boomer had shut the hatch and locked it before walking over.

Willow relaxed " What should I call you?"

Adama sat down " How about Old Man in private, that is what Kara calls me sometimes and Sir in public will do "

Boomer sat on the edge of the desk as she did earlier " What happened to Starbuck and Apollo commander?"

Adama explained the whole thing to them " I wouldn't bring it up around either of them right now, and Boomer the only reason I am telling you is because I know how close you and Kara have became, and you know how she gets when she loses control of things "

Boomer was livid " Where is Dee now?"

Adama looked at her " In the brig until I can have her evaluated before I bring charges against her "

Boomer stood up " When the pilots and crew find out what she did to Starbuck and Apollo there will be nowhere safe for her to go "

Adama knew that, he looked at Willow " Kara is like a daughter to me and it kills me knowing the pain she must be feeling right now "

Willow gave him a slight smile " She will be your daughter by marriage one day "

Adama closed his eyes a moment " I don't think she will be able to get past this "

Willow bobbed her head up and down " Yes she will, because in her heart she knows Lee would never do that to her "

Boomer wasn't so sure, about Starbuck getting past what happened that is " Sir, I hate to change the subject, but when I checked with Caprica about Apollo she said that she is going to try and sabotage a base star from the inside to see if it could be done "

Willow gasped " It will kill her and before you say it, I know she will download, but the more violet the death the more it hurts to resurrect "

Boomer agreed " Caprica knows that Willow, but she feels useless doing nothing and I don't think she is going to trust Natalie or the eight since they don't have a filter "

Willow knew there had to be something she could do " Let me know before you contact Caprica again, I want to ask Aurora if there is something she can do for Caprica and I don't see why she can't make another filter, the base star should have all the technology she needs "

Adama got up " I need to go, Boomer can you get Willow something to eat and stay with her tonight?"

Boomer nodded " Yes sir "

[BREAK]**************************************************************************************************************

Racetrack was transporting Cottle to Cloud Nine and she was curious about why he had to go there.

Helo wanted to know also so he asked " Hey Doc, why are you needed on Cloud Nine?"

Cottle snorted " I think if the commander wanted you to know he would have briefed you Helo "

Racetrack wanted something else " This is our last run, so is it possible for me to run into Cloud Nine if I make it quick Doc?"

Cottle didn't care " As long as you stay in radio range in case an emergency comes up "

Racetrack smiled at Helo " Thanks Doc "

After Cottle got off and she shut the raptor down she turned to Helo " I am going to see Mark, I bet he knows what has happened, you want to come?"

Helo got up " Sure, it beats sitting here "

They walked into the restaurant only to have Mark shove them back outside, which pissed Racetrack off a little " What in the frak is wrong with you Mark?"

Mark started pacing " I'm sorry Maggie, but I couldn't let you be seen by Lee"

Helo grabbed his shoulder to stop his pacing " What is wrong with Lee and where is Kara?"

Mark shook his head " It is not my place to say "

Helo got in his face " I am making it your place and don't worry I will take the heat from it "

Mark needed all the help he could get, plus he was worried about Kara, so he told them everything.

Racetrack gasped " My gods Apollo and I were talking about that when Starbuck was on Caprica " she paused " Apollo wanted to do something about her then, but I talked him into waiting until Starbuck got back "

Helo was the one pacing now " I can't believe Dee did that, why would she hurt Lee and Kara like that?"

Racetrack knew why, but still found it hard to believe she would go that far " Helo she changed after Apollo showed up, she became obsessed with him and I lost count of the different ways Apollo tried to make her understand he wasn't interested "

Helo looked at Mark " Where is Kara?"

Mark told him hoping he would know what to do " She is on the Aurora with her, I mean Adam "

Helo smiled " I know who he is, now could you call your contact on the Aurora and let them know I will be coming and staying the night "

Mark smiled " I was hoping you would know what to do and since you know the whole story tell her Lee is devastated and lost, gods I am half afraid he will hurt himself "

Helo patted him on the back " Go make the call and I will wait in the raptor giving you and Racetrack some time before we leave, and Mark if things get to bad with Lee call me and I will light a fire under Kara "

As Helo walked away Mark turned to Maggie " Is he serious about Kara?"

Maggie smiled " Yes, he will bring her here kicking and screaming if he has to, they are best friends "

Mark smiled " When I first met her she told me the only family she had lost was the family on Galactica that died at the hands of the cylons and her best friend "

Maggie frowned " I don't think she had any family or friends except for Helo, speaking of which go make that call "

While Maggie waited on Mark Cottle walked out " Are you spying on me?"

Racetrack knew he was serious " No, my boyfriend Mark owns this place I'm waiting on him "

Cottle grumbled " Hurry it up, I'm heading to the raptor "

Racetrack wished she could at least see Apollo just to make sure he was somewhat okay. She didn't know who to worry about more him or Starbuck.

Mark came back " Tell Helo Adam will meet him on the landing dock, can you come by tomorrow just in case I need someone to talk to, I'm really worried about Lee?"

Maggie stood up on her tiptoes and kissed him " I will find the time, do your best to take care of him, okay?"

Mark sighed " I will, I am going to see him now, bye "

Racetrack returned to the raptor " We have to swing by the Aurora to drop Helo off Doc, it shouldn't take long "

Cottle looked at Helo " I hope to gods she is doing better than him "

No one commented about that.

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

After Maggie left Mark went and knocked on the door of the room Lee was staying in. After several seconds Lee opened the door and seeing it was Mark he climbed back in the bed and sat against the far corner. " Is Kara alright?"

Mark sat at one end of the bed " I haven't seen her since well since she saw you, but she is on the Aurora and Helo is going over there to stay the night with her "

Lee sat up in the far corner " That's good, Helo is who she needs to be with right now "

Mark waited hoping Lee would ask or say something " Lee when the blood work comes back and proves that you were drugged Kara will understand what happened "

Lee looked at him " She will never be able to forget what she saw and I will never forget the hurt look on her face as she promised me her heart would be closed from me forever "

Powerful words, Mark thought " I don't believe that Lee, the Kara I know would trade her life for yours without a second thought as you would for her " Mark paused " Lee I don't know Kara as well as you do, but if you don't fight for her she will think she isn't worth you wasting your time on her "

Lee knew that even if she didn't forgive him she would find some excuse to blame herself for what happened " Do you know if she saw her dad?"

Mark smiled " Adam found out she was in the Temple and he went to her, they didn't talk much, Adam said he mostly held her while she cried " Mark chuckled

Lee looked at him " What do you find funny about any of this?"

Mark shook his head " I was laughing because you took Adam's bed here and Kara took his bed on the Aurora, that's all "

It made Lee almost smile " I want and need her so bad Mark and if she doesn't forgive me and come back to me, what will I have left?"

Mark stood up, not having an answer for him " Try to get some rest Lee and maybe tomorrow will be a better day "

Lee stretched out " Thanks for letting me stay Mark "

Mark nodded and pulled the door shut.

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

After Racetrack landed on the Aurora Helo unbuckled and stood up " Racetrack could you let Athena know I am staying here with Kara?"

Racetrack looked up at Helo " I'll let her know as soon as I get back and I will say a special prayer for Starbuck and Apollo tonight "

Helo took a second to look at her " I take it you believe in the Gods Racetrack, if so you might want to say your prayers to Aurora, I believe she will be listening "

Racetrack sat still for a minute replaying Helo's words, it almost sounded like he knew something.

Doc Cottle coughed breaking into her train of thought " Let's get going, after seeing Captain Adama tonight I feel like praying myself, he is going to need something to get him through what happened "

Racetrack lifted off as Helo watched from the deck finally turning after they were out of sight.

Adam was standing there when he turned around " You must be Helo, I am Adam "

Helo walked over to him " Yes I am Helo and you are Daniel, Kara's dad "

Daniel had a shocked look on his face " How do you know that, I thought only Lee knew ?"

Helo chuckled " Kara and I have been friends for a long time, she has only mentioned you a couple of times though "

Daniel held out his hand " It's good to meet you, I'll take you to Kara now, she won't admit it, but she needs someone "

Helo shook his hand " I know that's why I am here "

Daniel led Helo down several corridors before stopping in front of a door " She is in there, I'll see you both in the morning " and he walked away

Helo knocked on the door " Kara it's me Helo please let me in "

Kara was still awake so when Helo knocked she jumped out of bed to let him in " How did you find me Helo and how did you get here?"

Helo reached and pulled her into a hug " Mark told me you were here and Racetrack dropped me off as she was taking Cottle back to the Galactica"

Kara pulled back " Where did Cottle have to go?"

Helo sighed " Mark had him come to Cloud Nine to check on Lee and take some blood samples to test for drugs "

Kara backed away and sat on the bed " I don't want to talk about Lee, if that is why you are here you can leave "

Helo stripped down to his boxers and shirt and climbed into the bed " I am just here to sleep beside you in case you need me, now lie down and let's try to get some sleep "

Kara slipped in next to him and he gathered her in his arms then kissed the top of her head " Now go to sleep Starbuck "

Kara was still awake listening to Karl snore trying not to think of Lee. What if he had been drugged, suddenly Kara had to know, so she shook Helo awake " Who would drug Lee, Helo?"

Helo sat up " Dee hired the woman you saw to drug Lee and make sure that you found them in a comprising position, both women are in Galactica's brig waiting for the commander to charge them, the woman Dee hired told them everything Dee had asked her to do "

Helo laid back down " Can I go back to sleep now?"

Kara turned to look at him " How is Lee doing Helo?"

Helo frowned " Not good, Mark is half afraid Lee will take his own life, I didn't see him, but Cottle said he hoped you were doing better than Lee"

Helo asked " Kara how much do you love Lee, because from what little I know Lee loves you heart and soul and without you he will be lost "

Kara didn't answer instead she turned her back to Helo and let silent tears roll down her facing wishing she could find a way to take the image of Lee with another woman and erase it from her mind.

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

Racetrack landed back on the Galactica and went through the motions of shutting the raptor down and doing her checklist thinking about what Dee had done. She was so absorbed in her thoughts that she didn't know someone was behind her until she turned and saw it was Athena.

Athena waited not wanting to startle Racetrack " Where is Helo?"

Racetrack jumped down from the raptor " He wanted me to tell you he was staying the night with Starbuck on the Aurora, some things have happened "

Athena frowned " I know about all of it, Boomer told me and I'm glad Helo is with Starbuck, because I am headed to the brig to pay Dee a little visit"

Racetrack stopped her " You might get in trouble with the commander Athena "

Athena smiled " I am not military yet and besides I think the commander secretly wants someone to rattle her, although I would much rather kill her" Athena paused " Me wanting to kill her has nothing to do with me being a cylon, besides I don't think the gods want me to commit murder "

That startled Racetrack " You believe in our gods?"

Athena nodded " Yes I do, but I believe in Aurora more at the moment "

Racetrack watched Athena as she walked away surprised that she had heard someone speak Aurora's name twice in the last thirty minutes.

[BREAK]**************************************************************************************************************

Athena knew she would not sleep until she confronted Dee, so she headed to the brig with Corporal Venner right behind her. Athena turned to him when they reached the brig "Corporal you might not like some of the things that will be said in there " she nodded toward the women in the cells.

Venner stood his ground " If it has anything to do with what happened to Starbuck, I want to stay just to hear what lame excuse she comes up with "

Athena walked in and saw Dee laying on the cot looking content while the other woman paced saying she was sorry over and over. Athena walked up to the bars " Why did you do it Dee, I need to know what you thought you would accomplish by doing that ?"

Dee sat up and sneered " If I couldn't have Apollo I was going to make sure he could never have Starbuck, she gets everything she wants all the time, the commander even treats her like a daughter, so I made sure she would not want Apollo, causing him as much pain as he caused me "

Athena gripped the bars tight " You are insane Dee and you will be lucky if you are still alive in the next twenty-four hours "

Dee snorted " I believe you just threatened my life cylon right in front of Corporal Venner, so I think my luck will hold out "

Corporal Venner looked her in the eyes " I didn't hear any threats being made " he grinned " Although I did record what you just said "

Shevon walked over close enough that Athena could hear her " I had no idea what she was trying to do when I agreed to help her, she told me the commander would not care and he would keep it private " Shevon Looked at Dee " She is crazy and I had no idea how obsessed she is with Captain Adama " Shevon stepped closer " I know I'll will have to pay for my part in this, but I have a young daughter and I need to make sure she will be taken care of "

Athena didn't know how to help her, but Corporal Venner spoke up " I over heard the commander talking to the president and he told her if she couldn't find someone for your daughter than she should take care of her "

Before Athena left she told Shevon she would check into it and let her know, then she looked at Dee once more " If you believe in the gods than I suggest you start praying because the gods may be the only chance you have left "

Dee snorted " After everything Starbuck has done she will need the gods help more than me " she rolled over putting her back to them.

Athena waited until they stepped back into the hallway " I need to get a few things out of my locker before going to the CAG's office " She hadn't been assigned a bunk, but her and Boomer shared a locker.

Venner waited outside for her.

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

Corporal Venner walked to Lee's office with her " Athena do you think Starbuck and Apollo can get past what happened?"

Athena glanced at him " I hope so, because the fleet is going to need them " Athena stopped at the hatch " Corporal you need to get some rest, I am staying with Boomer tonight and I promise to stay here until you come for me in the morning "

Venner nodded " Thanks, I do need to sleep for a few hours and I am going to trust you Athena, so good night and I'll see you early in the morning"

Athena knocked and Boomer let her in " Where have you been Athena and where is Helo?"

Athena sat on the couch next to Willow " Helo is staying with Starbuck tonight and I haven't been given a place to bunk, so I was hoping I could stay here "

Boomer nodded " You and Willow can take the bed and I will sleep on the couch, we will figure the rest out tomorrow "

Athena looked at Willow " Is that okay with you Willow?"

Willow nodded " The only thing I ask is that I can see Kara tomorrow "

Boomer who had been looking for a blanket nodded " The commander will probably call us together tomorrow for another meeting "

Athena opened her bag and pulled out a pair of scissors and hair dye " You will be leaving in the morning and we need to get this done tonight "

Boomer had her sit in a chair and cut her hair shorter like Kara's had been before she let it grow out " Now that your hair is cut Athena can color it"

Willow nodded " Athena had picked a dark black color, knowing that it would have some red highlights to it " Athena stopped to clean up everything " You can rinse it out in thirty minutes and use the conditioner that came with it "

They talked while they waited answering questions Willow had about Kara and Lee.

Boomer explained what some of her job would be like which meant at first she would stay out of sight washing dishes and learning to prepare some dishes that were mostly ordered.

It was time, so she rinsed out the color and conditioned it, then rinsed her her once more before brushing it out then waited until it dried. After looking in the mirror she spun to face them " I like it, do you think it makes me look different than the other cylons?"

Boomer smiled " You already act differently than the sixes and now you look different also, it would take a lot before someone made the connection"

Athena smiled " You will like Cloud Nine Willow, but try not to do anything that would make someone look twice "

Willow nodded " What will I wear?"

Boomer answered " I think Mark might have some uniforms you can wear for right now "

After deciding on where to sleep they all went to bed.

Willow prayed to Aurora asking her to please help Kara and Lee.

[BREAK]*************************************************************************************************************

After Adama had given Tigh a five hour break he headed to his office for the rest of the night, knowing that President Roslin would probably show up on Galactica without any notice. Adama knew they had not finished the meeting and now he would have to explain about Dualla and the woman she had hired.

With those thought on his mind he was worried how much it would effect Lee and Kara. Adama knew that Lee loved Kara and would not have done what he did without the use of drugs, but they would have to work together in the coming months.

Adama knew he would also have to rely on Pythia or Aurora if there was the slightest chance one of them could help the fleet. He also knew if Roslin wouldn't change her mind that he would have no choice, but to follow Aurora.

Adama trusted Kara and knew she would go off on her own if he didn't back her up. Adama was still confused about why some of the cylons had chosen to protect Kara. He already believed that Cavil had his own agenda whether the cylons chose his side or Caprica's it wouldn't matter to Cavil.

He also knew he would have to tell Colonel Tigh almost everything in case something happened to him. Adama fell asleep as he was trying to figure out the best way to handle the rogue cylons.

[BREAK]**************************************************************************************************************

Adama woke up the next morning to a ringing phone, so stumbled over to his desk to answer it " Commander the president is on her way to see you, where should I have her wait?" Tigh asked

" Put her in conference room A and tell her I will be there as quickly as I can " Adama hung up

He had just finished dressing when someone knocked on the hatch.

Adama opened it to see Boomer standing there " Sir, Athena and I have Willow ready to be moved over to Mark's restaurant "

Adama left the door open for Boomer to follow him in " Have Racetrack and Helo take her and ask Helo to check on Lee "

Adama almost forgot " Has Helo made it back from the Aurora yet?"

Boomer nodded " He came in about twenty minutes ago, but I think Racetrack and Helo are off-shift today "

Adama picked up the pile of papers he needed " Just tell them it is a personal favor for me and they can catch some R&R while they are there "

Boomer nodded again " I will let them know, then I have a shift in the CIC as soon as I see them off "

Adama motioned her to the door following her out " Good, let's hope Caprica has some news for us today "

They had stopped as Boomer was headed one way and Adama another " I know it's been a little quiet around here and it makes me worry "

Adama chuckled " I worry something is going to happen everyday " then he walked off.

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

Boomer went by Lee's office to talk to Athena and Willow and luckily Helo was there also. " Helo the commander wants you and Racetrack to take Willow to Cloud Nine and make sure she has met Mark and stay until she is set up. " Boomer paused " Helo the commander also wants to know if Lee is okay "

Athena spoke up " Helo what do you think about Willow's new hair style, do you think anyone will know she is a cylon?"

Helo looked at her closely " No, are you sure she is a cylon?"

Boomer chuckled " I have wondered that myself "

Helo hugged Athena bye " I have hardly had any time to spend with you, how are you doing?"

Athena smiled " I start raptor school today even though I told them I already know how to fly it, but I am still worried about Starbuck and Apollo "

Helo smiled " I might have made a small break through with Kara last night, I told her everything, but she is still trying to forget about seeing Lee with another woman last night "

Willow groaned " I need to see Kara myself and make sure she's okay, I would ask Aurora, but I don't think she will interfere with with what Dee did "

Helo frowned " I wish she would, okay I am going to run Racetrack down and I will meet you three on the deck in ten minutes "

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

When Kara woke up Helo was gone, so she went to the mess to force some food down her even though she felt like throwing up.

As she was sitting there Eloshi came in and sat with her " I heard about what happened with Lee, Kara and I don't believe for one second that he would hurt you like that and I am afraid if you two don't talk about it and come to some understanding it is going to affect your destiny "

Kara closed her eyes for a second " If you know everything, please tell me how to forget what I saw "

Eloshi shook her head " I am afraid you can never forget what you saw, but I believe you can get past it, otherwise Dee will win by breaking you two apart which is why she did it, you can't let her win Kara "

Kara raised her eyes and looked at Eloshi " Why did she do it?"

Eloshi cleared her throat " Corporal Venner said that if she couldn't have Lee then she would make sure you didn't want him, causing him to feel as hurt and rejected as he made her feel "

Kara looked up when her dad appeared at the table " Can I sit with the two of you?"

Kara nodded and Adam sat down " I hope I wasn't interrupting anything "

Eloshi shook her head " You're not, I have to leave anyway Roslin wants me with her when she talks to Commander Adama "

Kara was fast becoming angry " What does she want now?"

Eloshi stood up " I am not sure Kara, maybe it is because we never finished our meeting last night "

Kara snorted " I doubt it, she probably wants to know what evidence we have concerning Aurora "

Eloshi nodded " Probably, but I am only admitting that I talked to Aurora and that she wants Roslin to quit pushing following Pythia "

Kara nodded " We will talk when you return "

Eloshi looked at her closely " I thought you would be ready to return to the Galactica?"

Kara shrugged " I can't fly for at least another week, so if it's alright with you I would like to stay here for awhile "

Eloshi looked at her once more " That's fine Kara, but you are going to talk to Lee soon "

After stating that Eloshi walked away.

[BREAK]**************************************************************************************************************

Kara and her dad ate in silence neither knowing what to say.

Adam put his fork down " Kara I hope you can forgive me for walking away from you "

Kara pushed her plate away " You told me all this last night, and even if I could forgive you for that, I doubt I can forgive you for what Mom put me through "

Adam moved his plate to the side " I didn't know she would do that Kara, I know that she almost never went to temple anymore, but I thought it was because of the first cylon War she went through "

Kara laughed an angered cry " She said I was the reason you left, because of some stupid destiny I had and she never let me forget it "

Adam looked away and back " When your mom got pregnant we were both going to Temple and that is when the Oracle told us you were special because Aurora had chosen you, but after a while she quit going and threw herself into the military way of life. She would take mission after mission like she was fighting demons of her own, but she never hurt you "

Kara snorted " No she waited until you left before taking it out on me in ways I thought a mother could never do to her child "

Adam reached for her hand which she let him hold " Kara, Mark told me about how you caught Lee with a woman and I don't believe for one second that he knew what he was doing, let alone where he was. " Adam paused " When I talked to Mark he said Lee was in bad shape and kept saying he had nothing left to fight for, I know what you saw hurt you, so can you at least try to understand how he felt when he realised it wasn't you he was with like he thought "

Kara got up and walked away heading to the Temple, instead of sitting she chose to kneel " Please tell me or show me what to do about Lee, the gods know how much I love and need him, but I need a little help here, so please help me "

[BREAK]**************************************************************************************************************

Lee woke with a start and sat straight up as the memories came rushing back to him. He knew he would have to return to the Galactica and fly caps and make out rosters and find out if any of his pilots had been screwing around instead of working.

As much as he missed Kara he was also afraid to face her right now, but the cylons didn't care if Lee was miserable. He took a shower and dressed in some shorts and his two tank tops before walking out of the room to find Mark, Racetrack, Helo and who he thought was Willow standing there.

Willow came toward him as soon as she saw him and grabbed one of his arms " What do you think about my new look Lee?"

Lee faltered for a moment " It's good, I almost didn't recognize you, why are you here?"

Willow stood with both hands on her hips " Lee Adama you knew I was being moved over here to stay and work for Mark "

Lee looked down " I forgot, I'm sorry Willow "

Willow brushed by him " I am also taking this room, so you will just have to go home back to yours and you also need to go to the Aurora and get Kara even if she fights you ever step of the way "

Helo piped up " I couldn't have said it better myself, fight for her Lee, show her how much you love her, and remember all of our lives are held in Kara's hands along with some help from the rest of us "

Racetrack jumped in " I know I am missing something very important here and I want to know what it is?"

Mark looked at Helo " You might as well tell her Helo, she has already been helping us without knowing why "

Racetrack turned on Mark " You knew something and you didn't tell me?"

Mark shrugged " We all just found out in the last week or so "

Lee decided " I need a ride to the Aurora, Helo can fill you in on the way "

They all left Mark to help Willow get settled.

* * *

( Leave a comment )


	36. Chapter 36

A DIFFERENT BEGINNING-CHAPTER- 36

THIS IS AN A.U. STORY WITH SPOTS OF CANON IN IT.

KARA AND LEE MEET FOR THE FIRST TIME THE DAY THE COLONIES FALL.

AS ALWAYS ALL MISTAKES ARE MINE.

PLEASE REMEMBER THAT MY KARA AND LEE ARE DIFFERENT BECAUSE THEY MET THE DAY THE WORLDS ENDED AND THEREFOR DO NOT HAVE ANY BAGGAGE BETWEEN THEM.

A DIFFERENT BEGINNING-CHAPTER-36

[BREAK]*****************************************************************************************************************

Commander Adama made a quick trip by the CIC " Colonel has Eloshi made it on board yet?"

Colonel Tigh turned to Adama " Yes I put her in the same room with the President " Tigh paused a minute listening as Cap was being replaced with the next shift before turning back " Bill what is going on around here?"

Adama sighed " I am planning on filling you in later today, but right now I have to meet with Eloshi and Roslin " he walked out before Tigh could ask him anything.

Adama made it to conference room A and took a deep breath before going in.

Roslin had been trying to get information from Eloshi, but stopped when Adama walked in " Commander could you please tell Eloshi she is obligated to tell us what she knows "

Adama sat down heavily " I don't know much about religion, but as a Priestess I'm pretty sure she doesn't have to tell us anything "

Roslin stood up and slapped both hands hard on the table " I think since our worlds have been destroyed her keeping silent is no longer acceptable "

Eloshi sat forward " I told you I talked with Aurora and that her chosen one is in the fleet and she wants you to back off, now that is all I am going to say about it "

Roslin turned to the commander " Next I suppose you will tell me you now believe in the gods commander? "

Adama looked up at her " I might a little, but what I do believe in is the chosen one, so I have decided we will be following Aurora's chosen one "

Roslin shouted " You can't make that decision alone, you have the whole fleet you have to answer to "

Adama now stood up " I beg your pardon, I don't have to answer to anyone for the simple matter that those civilians need us to do our job and protect them, which is exactly what I am trying to do and I don't need you stirring up a hornet's nest Madame President "

Roslin sat down deciding to try a different approach " Commander how can you be sure there is a Chosen One other than Eloshi saying there is?"

Adama sat down chuckling " Are you saying that you don't believe the Priestess that you have consulted since the start of all this?"

Roslin felt ashamed " Of course I trust her, I just think she needs to tell us who it is "

Adama sighed " I disagree, besides I already know who it is and before you start, I will not tell you who it is either until I know I can trust you and right now I don't "

Roslin sat back " Where is Captain's Adama and Thrace, shouldn't they be here, because I know Apollo would never agree to keep this from the civilians "

Adama chuckled " They have work issues that needed their attention and even if Apollo agreed with you like you think, I would still not divulge the identity of the chosen one "

Roslin stood up " We will see about that, I will have this issue brought before a review board "

Adama looked directly at her " Roslin it won't matter, because I will never tell you unless the chosen one thinks I should, with that being said you are welcome to try "

Roslin left red faced and angry wishing she could slam the hatch door like a regular door and headed to the CAG'S office only to find no one there as her knocks went unanswered. After looking for anyone to tell her where Captain Adama was she finally gave up and headed to the hangar bay.

Back in the conference room Adama asked " Did you see Kara this morning?

Eloshi nodded toward the hatch and Adama got up and closed it " Yeah we had breakfast together and I tried to talk to her about Lee, instead she asked me if she could stay a few more days " Eloshi paused a beat " I told her she could, but she was going to have to talk to Lee, and then her dad showed up asking to sit with us "

Adama had completely forgot about that " How are things with her dad going?"

Eloshi spoke softly " Things between them seem fine, but I think it has to do with how upset and hurt she is about Lee that is making it easier to accept her dad "

Adam sighed " Well at least one good thing is happening to Kara "

Eloshi asked for one thing " I think it is in Kara's best interest that you keep Dee locked up, the gods won't interfere in trivial things that mortals are apt to do "

Adama looked at her " Are you saying that unless Kara's life is threatened the gods won't step in for anything less?"

Eloshi " Yes, that is what I'm saying "

Frak, Adama thought " I know Kara is strong, I just don't know if she is strong enough for what she has to do as the chosen one "

Eloshi smiled " As long as she has Lee and the ones she trusts by her side she can do it "

Adama sat forward " We need a plan to make sure she has what she needs "

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

Racetrack, Helo and Apollo were in route to the Aurora when Lee broke the silence.

Lee was sitting next to Racetrack " Do you believe in the gods?" she nodded that she did " Even after they did nothing to save the colonies, you still believe in them?"

Racetrack looked at him " Yes I do, what are you getting at Apollo?"

Lee looked at the open space before them " I never believed in them until recently, and I really believed in them after I saw proof "

Racetrack was startled " You saw proof, when, how, or why for that matter?"

Lee looked at her " If you believe with no proof and still do after everything that has happened, then you have earned the right to know what we know "

What Lee was saying was freaking her out " Maybe it is better if I don't know "

Helo chimed in " You need to know Racetrack in case we need your help and several people know even the commander, but not Roslin, she can never know "

Racetrack contacted the Aurora for landing permission before answering " Tell me your proof and if Mark knows then you can tell me "

Lee unbuckled himself from the seat " Helo can fill you in, I won't be long, but as far as the proof goes I saw that Kara has the mark of Aurora on her "

Helo looked up at him " Are you going to get Kara?"

Lee shook his head " No, I need to go to the Temple and talk to Adam if I can avoid Kara "

Helo stood up " Lee she needs to come home with us " Lee took a few steps onto the open hatch door " Kara will come back when she is ready and I don't think her seeing me right now is something either one of us can deal with at the moment "

Helo gave up and told Racetrack everything which shocked the frak out of her.

After digesting all the info she exclaimed " Frak, how many people know, why are the cylons protecting her, who was that woman we took to Cloud Nine, my gods what about Starbuck and Apollo, I should have talked Athena into helping me kill her "

Helo chuckled " Are you through freaking out now ?" Racetrack nodded " First the woman we took to Mark is a number six cylon, Kara named her Willow " He paused "just let me finish okay, she is Kara's connection to Aurora, as you probably know the gods can not see their chosen ones, so her importance is second to Kara's, okay?"

Racetrack nodded " Go ahead "

Helo stated again " Boomer and Athena had already decided to side with us, then Aurora spoke to them and they vowed to protect Kara with their lives in return for being able to live out the rest of their lives as humans with us giving up resurrection " Helo paused a moment " Kara also has a mole inside the main base star sending information through Boomer, now let's see Boomer, Athena, Anders, Willow, Mark, me, Lee and the commander know "

Racetrack had been gripping and ungripping her hands " You forgot the mole and who is Anders?"

Helo chuckled " Caprica is the mole, and Anders was the leader of the Caprica resistance we brought back "

Racetrack nodded " There were times I thought something was up, especially after Starbuck and Apollo told everyone about Athena and Boomer and practically threatened anyone who bothered them "

Helo spoke " Look at me Racetrack " so she did " You can never tell anyone what I just told you, but you can talk to anyone who knows if you have a question, for us to find a home Kara has to be protected above anything else "

She had a question now " The president believes in the scriptures why not tell her ?"

Helo gasped " I'm glad you asked that, it reminded me to let you know that the Priestess Eloshi knows also and Roslin can't know because she believes she is the one to lead us home using the Book of Pythia "

Racetrack wondered " Why did Aurora show herself to the cylons?"

Helo shrugged " My best guess is that she knew that Kara would need help from our enemies in order to fulfill her destiny, besides like I said Boomer and Athena had already chose to help us before seeing Aurora "

Helo looked around " I need to tell you something only five people know in case I ever need your help you will know why, can I trust you with this Racetrack?"

Racetrack nodded wondering what else could possibly happen " Kara's dad ran away when she was eight and she found out yesterday that he is alive and on this ship, that is who Lee is wanting to talk to " he waited a second " He is using the name Adam and he left when Kara was young because he knew she was Aurora's chosen one and the other temples found out Aurora's chosen one was living on Caprica and started searching for her, so he left so no one could connect him to her"

Racetrack closed her eyes and dropped her head " I could have never gone through what Starbuck has and had to do and still has to do "

Helo sighed " Yeah and that isn't even the worst of it "

Racetrack gasped " What could possibly be worse Helo?"

Helo didn't know why he told her, but he did " After her dad left her mom blamed her and started mentally and physically abusing her, I guess Aurora knew Kara was a survivor when she chose her "

Racetrack stood up " I can't hear anymore right now " and she walked off the raptor, after a minute she walked back over " I need to go to the Temple also, if Apollo gets back before me tell him he is going to have to wait, I need to do this "

Lee had saw Adam first and talked with him needing to find out if Kara was okay. Adam had told him he was trying to get Kara to understand what Dee had done. They said their good-byes with Adam promising to keep Kara away from the Temple for a while, which is where Lee was now.

He had been there sometime praying for whatever help he could get in helping him and Kara to be together again.

He looked up when he heard someone enter and come sit next to him " I take it you freaked out after Helo told you everything?"

Racetrack nodded " At first yeah, but I came here to pray to the gods, so they might show me how to help Kara "

Lee looked at her curiously " I think that is the first time you have called her Kara, why now?"

She looked sideways at him " Aurora chose Kara not Starbuck "

They both fell silent while they prayed, before heading back to the raptor and from there to the Galactica.

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

Mark had been helping Willow get set up in Adam's room after he boxed up everything, except a picture of Kara with her dad as a child.

Willow had taken it from his hand " I don't think Adam will care if I keep this "

Mark let her keep it " Are you close to Kara?"

Willow bobbed her head " Yeah, she named me Willow " She paused looking at the picture " Kara is special and not just because Aurora chose her"

Mark was interested " What do you mean Willow?"

She thought about how to explain it " Kara is strong and she wouldn't hesitate to kill anybody if they were hurting anyone she loved, but at the same time she said she didn't want Dee or anyone else to be killed because of her "

Mark winked at her " That sounds just like her, so we will have to make sure nobody hurts her whether she likes it or not "

Willow grinned " I like that idea, do you think Kara will come here to see me since Lee is gone?"

Mark nodded " Tell you what, I need to get you some uniforms and everyday clothes, so I will call Adam and tell him you want to see Kara, okay?"

Willow placed the picture back on the table " Thank you Mark "

Mark smiled " You might not thank me after I show you where you will be working " he said as he was leaving.

Willow shut the door and sat on the bed imagining how Lee must have felt last night. If they didn't get together soon she would come up with some excuse to get them together herself. As soon as she finished her thoughts she heard Aurora whisper ' Have faith child there are a lot of people praying for them as we speak '

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

The pilots had no idea what was going on. As far as they knew Starbuck and Apollo was taking a much needed R&R pass, and Helo had been acting CAG.

They stopped and watched as Racetrack landed then waited while she shut it down. They were surprised when just Apollo, Helo and Racetrack disembarked.

Keeper and Duck walked over and Keeper spoke first " We are glad your back Captain, Helo has been a pain in the ass, speaking of that where is Starbuck?"

Duck punched him in the shoulder " He didn't mean that in a bad way Apollo "

Lee barley smiled " It's okay, even I know how she can be, but right now she has other orders and will be away for a few days "

Racetrack cut in " Don't the two of you have better things to do? "

Duck spoke up " Maybe we do and maybe we don't, besides it is none of you business Racetrack "

Lee wished he didn't have to be here, so he spoke loudly " All of you lock it up now, and get back to work if your on the clock, otherwise get off the deck "

No one said another word as they all took off except Helo " I am going to see Athena, then I will come by your office to officially hand off my paperwork "

Lee nodded once and walked about four feet before Roslin stopped him, so he waited and let her come to him " Captain Adama I need your help, the commander won't release the name of the chosen one, but I know you will agree with me that the civilians should know about it "

Lee snorted " I know it rarely happens Madame President, but I agree with the commander when it comes to the chosen one "

Roslin kept on " I have even threatened him with legal action and he said he would still not tell me "

Lee looked her straight in the eyes " Madame President I strongly suggest you let this go before you doom the rest of our race " Lee moved to walk away but turned back " You nor Pythia have any idea what you are doing and from what I have learned about Aurora aside from the fact she wants you to back off is if you attempt to get in her or her chosen ones way you will regret it, so like I said, let it go "

Roslin watched him walk away and she felt a sudden brush of something as it passed next to her giving her chill bumps. Roslin decided then and there to find any reading material or verbal information she could about Aurora. Their veiled threats didn't scare her.

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

Lee punched in his code and walked into his office and just stood there a minute remembering how Kara was showing Willow around. Lee had to admit when it came to Willow cylon or not Kara had become attached to her.

Lee walked to his locker to put on a uniform and found the one t-shirt Kara had and she kept it there because she liked sleeping in it. He held it and smelled it, inhaling deep once he smelled her on it, then he folded it and placed it between two of his shirts. After changing clothes he sat down to work and wait on Helo. Thinking of him led to thoughts that Boomer and Athena must be doing okay with the people on board Galactica. Lee chuckled, it was that or the fact Kara had threatened them, either way it seemed to be working.

Helo showed up about thirty minutes later and sat down across from him and chuckled " You should have seen Athena, she is still pissed at Dee and can barely keep herself from beating the crap out of her "

Lee kept looking at reports " I know how she feels, what about the other woman?"

Helo laughed " She is in the cell next to Dee, Athena said she told them she did not know how unstable Dee was and kept saying she was sorry, but she would serve her time as long as someone looked after her daughter "

Lee looked up " At least she told me the truth about that, where did Dee find her?"

Helo snorted " She is a working girl on the Prometheus and needed the money and Dee knew that about her and exploited it "

Lee's face paled " She is a prostitute, does Kara know?"

Helo sat up straight " Yes she is Lee and Kara knows all about her, because I made sure Kara knew that you were used by Shevon and Dee "

Before Helo could react Lee stood up and swept everything off of his desk, but stopped when he heard glass breaking " Oh my gods I broke the picture of Kara and I at the dance " Helo watched as Lee went down onto his knees pushing papers aside until he found the picture and then he sat back and stared at it.

Helo moved slowly down onto the floor and started picking papers and other things up " Lee I have an extra frame in my locker you can have it, I don't need it anymore "

Lee seemed to break out of the trance he had been in " Thanks Helo, and I mean for everything, especially for being there for Kara, I could see how much it hurt her and I won't blame her if she can't forgive me "

Helo stopped what he was doing and waited for Lee to look at him, they were only about a foot apart as they knelt on the floor " Lee you can't give up on Kara she loves you and she is going to need you to support her through all this destiny crap "

Lee felt desolate " I am so tired of all this Helo, I don't think I have anything left to give to anyone " He paused as he stood up " I just want it all to go away, especially the pain " Helo watched as he went into his small bedroom and shut the door locking it from the inside.

Helo sat there a minute replaying Lee's words and then shot up off the floor " Oh my gods was he talking about ending his life?" he asked aloud

At that moment the commander walked in " My gods Helo what happened in here?"

Helo turned to his commander wide eyed and scared. " Lt. Agathon what is wrong?"

Helo snapped out of it and whispered " I think Lee might kill himself right now, if he hasn't already, he said some really frakked up things then went into his room and locked the door "

Almost before Helo finished Adama was pounding on the door " Lee you open this door now!"

Lee shouted and they could tell he was crying " No, leave me alone "

Adama turned to Helo " I don't care what you have to do, but you get Kara over here even if you have to knock her out and call Cottle and have him come here "

Helo saluted " Yes Sir "

After contacting Cottle, Helo who had been running full out slid into the hangar bay hollering " Racetrack I need to be in the air in one minute two at the most, I don't care what you have to do, but get it done now!"

Racetrack knew this was one of those things " Chief I am leap frogging all flights before me, I leave next and do not question me "

Chief Tryol ran his deck like he wanted " Not while I'm Chief you won't "

Racetrack caught sight of Anders and hollered across the bay for him and waited for him to reach them " I was told you and I share the same security level, so you either make the chief do as I say or tie him up, right frakking now "

The Chief was in the process of calling the marines when Sam knocked him out and pulled him away from any flights or after-burners " Okay you are good to go " he trotted off.

Racetrack ran into the raptor as Helo was already closing the hatch and she heard him say " I don't care what you have to tell her, but you have her on the landing deck in five minutes, I will take it from there "

Helo sighed and sat back.

Racetrack glanced back at him " I hope it is worth it, because I just had Anders knock the Chief out "

Helo looked at her so sad she knew it was bad " Lee has locked himself in his bedroom and the commander and I think he is ready to die "

Racetrack shut her eyes a moment " Oh my gods, if he does that Kara might die also and she will never complete her destiny "

Helo let out what could only be called a roar " If Dee was standing in front of me right now, I swear to the gods I would kill her with my bear hands"

Racetrack felt the same way " We are coming up on the Aurora now, are you going to tell Kara?"

Helo shrugged " Knowing Kara it would probably be best just to tie her up and drag her back, otherwise she will stall by talking "

Racetrack nodding" We are landing now and she is on the deck, what do I need to do?"

Helo stood up " Keep the raptor ready we are leaving in thirty seconds " Helo jumped two feet to the deck and headed straight for Kara " I need you to come with me to the Galactica, now Kara "

Kara stepped back " No, not yet "

Helo reached out and grabbed her arm twisting it behind her back then grabbed the other one tying her hands faster than she thought possible. The next thing she knew she was thrown into a raptor and not gently.

Adam grabbed Helo " What's going on?"

Helo decided to go with the short version " Lee is going to kill himself, if he hasn't already " he jumped in the raptor " Get us back as fast as you can Racetrack and you might need to tell the CIC we will be coming in hot so clear us a path "

Kara lay on the floor wondering what the frak was happening. She knew she might get kidnapped one day, but Helo and Racetrack were not even on the list of possibilities. " For fraks sake Helo what are you doing?"

Helo finally looked at her " Trying to save a life Kara "

Kara sat up " Whose and what does it have to do with me?"

Helo looked at her then away before facing her again " We don't have time for the long version or we may already be to late " Helo paused " Kara, Lee has locked himself in his bedroom and he told me he didn't want to live anymore "

Kara turned away " Untie my hands right frakking now Helo! "

Helo did and watched as Kara drew her knees up to her chest and wrapped her hands around her knees shaking and trying not to cry " How long before we land Racetrack?"

Racetrack glanced back " Galactica I need clearance to make an emergency landing right now "

Colonel Tigh answered " You will have to wait, Cap is launching first "

Starbuck jumped up and came to the front " Racetrack open all communication to the vipers and raptors "

Racetrack turned to look at her after doing so" They have their ears on Starbuck "

Starbuck didn't hesitate " This is Starbuck who is leading the CAP?"

Keeper answered " Keeper here Starbuck, what do you need "

Kara didn't care " I am over riding Colonel Tigh's orders, stay on the deck until Racetrack lands or you will answer to me, got it?"

Colonel Tigh was pissed " You have crossed the line Starbuck, I will have your wings and rank for this "

Kara growled " Take it up with the commander, because if I don't land right now, you will be the one losing your rank Colonel, that I can promise you "

Kara stated one more time " We are coming in, pilots stand down "

Racetrack landed and just as Helo had done on the Aurora Kara jumped two feet off the deck with Helo behind her, running across the hangar.

Racetrack finished shutting the raptor down only to find the chief waiting for her " I am pressing charges against you "

She smiled " Feel free to take it up with the commander " she smiled as she walked away.

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

Kara and Helo ran into Lee's office so fast they literally didn't have room enough to stop and ended up crashing against the wall by the door Adama was banging on.

Adama saw Kara " Thank you for coming Kara, he won't talk to me, so I'm hoping you can get him to talk "

Helo walked up close to them " When was the last time he spoke "

Adama hung his head " Almost five minutes ago "

Helo gasped " You don't think he has already "

Kara interrupted " Don't you dare finish that sentence Helo "

Kara had moved and sat down by the door and spoke quietly " Lee it's me Kara, could you please say something, so I will know you are okay?"

He didn't say anything, Kara saw a gap under the door " Lee I am going to slide my hand under the door please touch my hand, so I can feel you "

On the other side of the door Lee heard Kara, but he didn't answer, but when he saw her fingers slide under the door he reached out and brushed his hand across them.

Kara gasped and then she stated sobbing " Oh my gods Lee, why are you thinking of doing this? "

Lee slid their picture under the door " I know that you will never look at me the same way again or love me as much ever again, and without that Kara I have nothing left to live for "

Adama motioned for Helo and Cottle to follow him out.

Kara slid her hand back under and waited for him to touch her again " What do you think would have happened to me Lee if you died ?"

Lee laid his palm on top of her hand and kept it there " You are a survivor Kara, that is why Aurora picked you "

Kara laid her head against the door crying " Lee I can't do any of this without you by my side, I love you Lee Adama "

Lee had lain his head against the door also " How can you love me after what you saw, I saw the disgust on your face and I don't blame you Kara if you can never forgive me "

Kara flipped her hand and tried to entangle their hands " Lee I forgave you the second I found out you had been drugged and it was staged so that I would see you, but I can't promise that I can forget seeing you like that with another woman, but if you come out I promise to try "

Lee needed to see her " Are you alone?"

Kara looked back and saw that they were " Yeah, I didn't even know they left "

The door opened in toward Lee and as he sat there he opened the door and saw Kara sitting across from him.

For a minute they simply looked at each other with tears streaming down both their faces.

In an instant Kara knew she loved Lee and would somehow find a way to move past what happened and launched herself into his lap throwing both arms around his neck.

Lee grabbed her and held her so tightly she almost couldn't breathe " I love you Kara Thrace "

Kara stood up and reached for him " Let's try to get some sleep Lee, I think we both could use some and later I am going to Cloud Nine to see Willow "

Lee knew nothing would happen besides sleeping, because things were still to fresh and raw for anything more. He also knew that this was just a moment out of time, and he knew Kara would pull away from him later. So Lee took the moment hoping they would find their way back to each other soon.

They both undressed down to their tanks and underwear and crawled into bed staying as close as possible to each other.

[BREAK]**************************************************************************************************************

Adama had been paged to the CIC and the moment he walked in Colonel Tigh started.

Tigh looked at Adama " Captain Thrace went against my orders and made CAP wait until she landed, I want her wings and for her to be busted back to Lt. "

The Commander looked at his friend " There are things you don't know Saul and Starbuck over riding your orders probably saved your job "

Tigh scoffed " So you are going to let her keep getting away with whatever she does?"

Adama nodded " Yes, look Saul there is a lot happening right now and Starbuck is the most valuable person in this fleet, and if you breathe a word of this to Roslin or anyone else, you will be in the brig until we find Earth or some other habitable planet " He paused " As for what happened earlier Lee was going to commit suicide and Kara was the only person who could stop him, she saved my son's life Saul "

Saul nodded " Now I understand why Starbuck did what she had to, but what else is going on around here?"

Adam sighed " A lot, it would take most of the day to explain it to you and I will when I have time, until then all I ask is that you trust me even if it seems odd" Adama waited a beat " Dee and another woman are in the brig for trying to destroy Starbuck and Apollo which is where most of what happened tonight came from. They will not be released until I say so, but I should warn you that Dee is unbalanced or crazy, whatever you want to call it "

Saul nodded " Then I will follow your lead Bill, you can trust me, I swear "

Adama walked to the table " Thank you, I think it is time for us to search for resources instead of waiting around on the cylon's "

Colonel Tigh nodded " I will get right on it, anything else?"

Adama turned to face him " Saul I know this is going to sound crazy, but I am going to place Boomer in the CIC permanently to help you set up scouts for the resources and if she tells you something needs to be done right away, just do what she says and I will explain later"

Colonel nodded " You trust her, don't you?"

Adama considered his answer " Boomer has direct contact with a cylon mole Starbuck has on the main base star, so yes I trust her and not just because Starbuck does." then he added " Boomer has already earned my trust "

Adama walked out and headed to Lee's office to make sure he was okay. What he found brought a smile to his face as he saw Kara trapped in Lee's arms asleep in his bed. He locked the hatch on his way out knowing they had forgotten to. He hoped Lee would join him for dinner so they could talk, he couldn't bear it if he lost Lee especially by his own hand.

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

Willow had waited on Mark to bring her some clothes. After looking at them he told her which uniform to put on and waited outside while she changed. Willow didn't really like it because it was white baggy pants with a matching top along with what he said was an apron. After looking at herself once more she opened the door " I hate this thing, it's ugly "

Mark laughed " It was not meant to look good, it's purpose is practical " he knew she still didn't understand " You will be washing dishes so this is what you have to wear, now follow me "

She followed him to the kitchens along the way he explained her cover story " If anyone ask you are my cousin on my mom's side of the family and we haven't seen each other in ten years, okay?"

She looked up at him " Why is it any ones business?"

Mark sighed " You are staying in the guest bedroom of my quarters and if we are related no one will question it "

Willow stopped " How did we meet up in the fleet?"

Mark thought " How about at the Colonial day dance?"

Willow started walking again " I suppose that will work cousin " then she grinned at him, until he led her to a stack of dishes " You have to wash and dry all of these plates and as a surprise Kara and you will be having dinner in my room tonight "

Willow threw her arms around him without thinking " Thank you and I promise to have all this done.

Mark chuckled as he walked away already knowing she would be a handful.

* * *

( Leave a comment )


	37. Chapter 37

A DIFFERENT BEGINNING-CHAPTER- 37

THIS IS AN A.U. STORY THAT STARTS WHEN THE COLONIES ARE DESTROYED.

IT IS ALSO THE FIRST TIME KARA AND LEE MEET.

IT WILL HAVE SPOTS OF CANON IN IT, BUT NOT VERY OFTEN.

AS ALWAYS ALL MISTAKES ARE MINE.

I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO STATE THAT KARA AND LEE ARE DIFFERENT BECAUSE THERE IS NO BAGGAGE BETWEEN THEM.

[BREAK]******************************************************************************************************************

CHAPTER-37-A Different Beginning

[BREAK]****************************************************************************************************************

Kara woke up several hours later with her back as close to Lee as possible and he held onto her tightly. Kara knew she had just enough time to go to her locker and pick up a change of clothes before heading to the shower area.

She slowly slid forward trying not to wake him, Lee looked like he had not slept very much at all. Kara had almost made it out of his arms when he woke up and pulled her back into his arms " You were going to leave without saying good-bye, weren't you Kara?"

Kara turned her head to look at him " Only because I know you need to sleep Lee and I have to shower and go over to Cloud Nine to have a private dinner with Willow, Mark said she wants to see me "

While they continued to look at each other Lee spoke " Boomer cut her hair and Athena dyed it black, she definitely doesn't look like any six I have ever seen "

Kara started to get out of the bunk, but stopped " Lee I need you to promise me you will never think about giving up again, you can't leave me here alone without you, because I won't care if we ever find a home, I can be that selfish." she paused " I know a lot of people are counting on me and the only way I can do this, is with you by my side "

Lee lifted a hand and touched the side of her face " I want more Kara, I want us to find a place the fleet can call home and I want to spend every day with you for the rest of our lives starting now "

Kara turned away for a moment " I want the same thing Lee, but right now I can't stop seeing you with that woman, I know you were drugged, but you seemed so consumed with her that you hollered at me to shut the frakking door without even looking to see who it was, so I guess what I need to know, is it really me that you want?"

Lee wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her back " You will always be the only woman I want, frak I thought I was with you Kara, and you understand me in a way that no one ever has and you push me to be the best at whatever I do and I am a better man because of you Kara." Lee knew he didn't have long, so he put his mouth to her ear and whispered " I pray that you will come back to me when you are ready, and I hope you can find a way to be with me after what you saw, but please don't take to long deciding, now you had better go get ready, you know how Willow can get sometimes "

Kara stood up and Lee had laid back down, so Kara leaned down to kiss him deeply " I will see you around Lee " and she walked out.

[BREAK]**************************************************************************************************************

Caprica had secretly been trying to find the right materials she needed to make a couple of filters in case she found out she could trust Natalie and the eight.

One group of the three cylon raiders had found the fleet and jumped back to tell Cavil. Caprica knew he had a plan, except he wasn't telling anybody what it was.

She had finished the filters now she needed to talk to Natalie, she found her in her room projecting, " I am sorry to interrupt Natalie, but I need to talk to you "

Natalie motioned for her to come in before she got up and shut and locked the door. " I was wondering when you would come talk to me "

Caprica sat down next to her " Do you think that what we did to the colonies was wrong?"

Natalie thought about it before answering " As my sister will you keep what I say to yourself?"

Caprica nodded " You know I will Natalie "

Natalie took her hand " Yes it was wrong, I even tried to convince Cavil it was wrong, but as you can see he didn't listen to me "

Caprica stood up " What if I told you we could help the humans that survived and ourselves?"

Natalie stood up and faced Caprica " Why do you think the humans would trust us to help them and how could we help ourselves?"

Caprica sighed " Boomer and Athena are helping them and they are working alongside the humans and have already earned their passage to the new world and Aurora has them helping the chosen one, Aurora trusts them "

Natalie gasped " Are you telling me that the gods and goddess really exist?"

Caprica grinned " Yes, and the missing six is with Starbuck who has named her Willow and she is her contact to Aurora "

Natalie took a minute to process it all " If we download all that we know will spread throughout the cylons, Caprica "

Caprica smiled " Not if you have a filter like I do, I am able to hide anything I don't want Cavil to know "

Natalie shut her eyes a moment " So, if I agree to help, you will give me a filter? "

Caprica knew the hard part was yet to come " If you agree to help the chosen one you will be protected and earn your passage to a place now being called New Earth, but if you try to cross Aurora you will die and you will not resurrect "

Caprica continued after a moment " Natalie have you ever seen proof that we even have a god, I mean the humans created us then we evolved, and Cavil has been the only one that always told us about god, so he is either lying or setting himself up as our god "

Natalie had to admit something herself " I know Cavil is keeping things from us, but I don't know what they are "

Caprica had one more thing that had to be said " You cannot tell anybody about Aurora or her connection to Willow or Starbuck "

Natalie considered everything Caprica said, but she needed to be sure about Aurora " Are you sure about Aurora?"

Caprica smiled " Yes Natalie, I saw and talked to her myself "

Natalie had made up her mind " I promise, just let me know what I need to do "

Caprica sighed " After putting the filter into you we need to try and figure out what Cavil is up to "

Natalie thought she should say something else " I think the eight that was with Leobon will help us, she misses Boomer and Athena "

Caprica nodded also " I have been thinking about asking her, but I am not sure we can trust her "

Natalie disagreed " I think she can be trusted, now let's get that filter in me before something happens to me unexpectedly "

[BREAK]**************************************************************************************************************

Kara took a shuttle that had been docked on the Galactica. Most people were getting off on Cloud Nine, Kara had dressed in her black jeans and a short sleeve black t-shirt that she had borrowed from Lee one day. As the people got off the shuttle Kara could see that they were heading to different places. She headed to Mark's restaurant.

It didn't take long for Mark to notice her and he pointed to the back yelling" I'll be by soon to take your orders "

Kara looked around the restaurant making sure there were no threats visible then headed to the back room. She was just about to go to Adam's old room when she heard Willow coming up behind her " Kara I am glad you came, I had to see for myself that you were okay "

Willow stood there watching her causing Kara to break the silence " How do you like your new job?"

Willow shrugged " It's okay, for right now Mark has me washing dishes, he said I could do something else after a while "

Kara looked past her " Are we eating in Mark's room?"

Willow bobbed her head " Mine is too small, plus he set it up nice, come on and I will show you "

Kara followed Willow into Mark's room " See, it looks good "

Willow sat down " Have you talked to Lee yet, he seems so lost and used, I am worried about him?"

Kara closed her eyes knowing how close she came to losing him " He is okay and yes I went to see him, it might take a while before I can move past what I saw " Kara was no fool she knew the ones closest to her would already know what happened.

Mark walked in and poured them a glass of water " I hope you two don't mind, I prepared something special for the both of you ?"

Kara smiled " Thanks Mark, I can use something special right now "

Mark turned to leave, but walked back to the table " Kara is Lee going to be okay?"

Kara looked dead at him " I think so, but his friends need to keep an eye on him for a few days "

Mark moved to go " I will be right back "

Willow was suspicious " You are not going back to the Galactica and Lee, are you?"

Kara took a drink of water " I like your new look Willow "

Willow was suddenly upset with Kara " You might as well answer me Kara or I will keep asking until you do, and I think you are running away when you know Lee needs you right now "

Kara gave her a hard look " Willow just because you are my contact to Aurora doesn't give you the right to my private business, besides Lee can take care of himself "

Willow stood up so fast the chair fell backwards " Lee almost killed himself because of you, and you and I both know he will try it again if you go to the Aurora, frak that is almost telling him to go ahead and try it again "

Kara stood up and leaned on the table giving Willow a look that should have scared her " Willow it is none of your frakking business, now shut up about Lee "

Willow reached down and put the chair back at the table " You know what, frak you Kara, I think the prostitute cares more about Lee then you do!" Willow paused before leaving " Tell Mark I lost my appetite "

Mark had passed a pissed off Willow as he was heading to his room where he found Kara sitting very still at the table.

He walked around and pulled out the chair Willow had been sitting in and saw Kara struggling not to cry, so he talked knowing that if she did she would not be able to stop the tears " I guess Willow wasn't hungry after all, how about me eating with you?"

Kara nodded without looking directly at him.

Mark got up " Let me grab our plates and I'll be right back "

Kara sat there thinking about what Willow had said, she thought Lee was going to be okay, but what if Willow was right. Maybe the best thing for Lee was for her to let him out of her frakked up life. How could Willow think Kara didn't love Lee and why would she throw Shevon the prostitute in her face like that. Kara didn't like loving someone that much, because it always made the pain unbearable. Kara had never loved anyone before Lee, but she had read books about people loving each other like they were connected or one part of a whole. For once Kara wished someone would tell her what to do and she would do it.

When Mark put her plate in front of her she jumped, she had been so caught up in thinking " I'm sorry my mind was somewhere else " Kara looked at her plate " Oh my gods I love grilled cheese sandwiches and chips, where in the galaxy did you find chips?"

Mark laughed " I tend to hoard a few things and chips happens to be one of those things, and everybody loves grilled cheese sandwiches "

Kara silently agreed as she took a bite " That tastes so good, I can't remember the last time I ate one of these "

Mark figured she had calmed down " Kara, why was Willow mad, I passed her on my way in here before?"

Kara glanced at him " She thinks I should stay on the Galactica and stay close to Lee, she is worried about him "

Mark nodded " We are all worried about him, if you are not going to the Galactica where are you going?"

Kara finished chewing before answering " The Aurora " Kara put her sandwich down " Mark do you think Lee would be better off if I kept him away from this Aurora stuff?"

Mark shook his head " No Kara, Lee loves you, he doesn't care about Aurora unless it directly involves you, which I guess is almost all the time. " He waited a beat " Kara, Lee's greatest fear is losing you, Willow knows that and it is the reason she is upset with you, we all saw his pain Kara, but I and your dad are the only ones that saw yours "

Kara stood up " Thanks for the meal Mark and I hope Lee will be okay, because I will be staying on the Aurora until I am cleared for flight "

Mark got up " Kara for your sake I hope you are right, because Lee starts back flying tomorrow and you and I both know he will be thinking of you and not the battle if we happen to end up in one, with that said I think if you really love Lee you will go to him and not the Aurora, but it is your call I just hope you make the right one " Mark started clearing the table as Kara walked out.

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

Kara left and headed to the bar upstairs, she didn't know what to do after listening to Willow then Mark. She figured she might as well get drunk and hopefully she could drown out the voices and forget she ever heard of Aurora or destiny or even the frakking cylons at least for a night if nothing else.

After Kara looked at the people at the bar she swung her stool around scanning the room for what she didn't know, except out of habit and something seemed off. Kara scanned the room once more and saw Keeper and Duck sitting at one of the back booths. After getting one more drink she walked over to join them and sat down. " You guys mind if I sit with you?" a silly question since she had already sat down.

Keeper chuckled " It looks like you already have Starbuck "

Duck grinned " How much longer before Cottle lets you fly?"

Kara shrugged " A week to ten days at the most " Kara sat forward and spoke low " Do you guys have a feeling that something is not right?"

Keeper and Duck both said no " Are you packing tonight?"

That got Keepers attention " No, but something tells me you are, why?"

Kara chuckled " I am always packing, maybe you two are right and nothing is going on, I am going to get another drink "

Duck looked at Keeper " If Starbuck thinks something is up, then it probably is "

Keeper looked around " What do we do?"

Duck looked at him once again " We keep our eyes on Starbuck, if somethings happens she will let us know, we also need to watch the crowd and any new comers"

Keeper laughed " Speaking of that, Racetrack just walked in and I see one marine who must be on R&R "

Duck called out to her " Come join us for a minute "

Racetrack walked over " Hey have you two seen Mark?"

Keeper grinned " No, but Starbuck is here and she thinks something is not right, but we haven't seen anything "

Racetrack cursed " Frakking Starbuck, she won't stay where she is supposed to "

Duck frowned " What are you talking about Racetrack, she can go anywhere she wants to, just like she did when she stole the raider and jumped to Caprica against Commander Adama's orders "

Before anything else was said Mark walked in and caught sight of Maggie " Hey, you look nice with the jeans and tank top "

Maggie smiled " Thanks Mark, but right now we have a bit of a situation "

Mark frowned " What is it this time?"

Racetrack nodded toward the bar and had to grab his arm to stop him " It's not just her, Starbuck thinks something is going down in the bar tonight "

Mark stepped away " I am going to take care of Kara first and you guys keep looking for something or someone out of place "

Racetrack sat down and Keeper chuckled " Do you think your boyfriend can handle her Racetrack?"

She smiled " Other than Lee or Helo, Mark is the next best choice "

They watched when he reached Kara and took the drink from her hand " She is cut off tonight " he said to the bartender, then he spun her stool around until she was facing him, and he spoke in a low voice " What in the frak are you doing in a bar Kara?"

Starbuck stood up and looked up at him " I am trying to get drunk enough to forget everything and everybody, so leave me the frak alone!"

Duck and Keeper couldn't stop laughing at Mark " Does he know that she will knock him on his ass?"

Before Racetrack could respond, Mark had grabbed Kara by the arm and drug her into the bathroom, which only made them laugh harder.

They looked to the entrance to see somebody they thought would never enter a bar come in, President Roslin and when she spotted them she walked over and took the only seat left in the booth " Racetrack, I was told I could find Mark here, is he around?"

Keeper who always talks before thinking blurted out " He is in the restroom with Starbuck "

Roslin looked at each of them before asking " Why?"

Before anyone could speak the doors had dropped and locked everyone from getting out or in. There was three guys now holding guns on all of them and a woman who seemed to be their leader." Stay still and where you are and no one will be hurt."

Mark and Kara had been arguing when they heard the doors close, which was strange.

Kara looked at Mark " I told Keeper and Duck something was going on, but no one listened to me "

Mark went to peek out the door they came in " There are three heavily armed men and a woman with a hand gun out there, what do you think they want Starbuck?"

Kara snorted " Something they are not getting, Athena and Boomer "

Mark dropped his head " Do you have a gun?"

Kara chuckled " You mean am I packing, I always do "

Mark asked " Is it to much to hope you have a plan?"

Kara just shook her head " Go and see if anyone came in after you did "

Kara was trying to figure out how to break the cooling system when Mark came back, he looked at Kara " The President is here "

Kara whooped " Now we get to kill two birds at the same time "

Mark looked at her closely " You are drunk Kara, so how in the frak are you supposed to do anything?"

Kara put her hands on her hips and faced him " First of all I am not drunk just tipsy, and second we are going to save the hostages, but not before you rescue Roslin"

Mark stalked off then came back " I can't believe you are going to try two major things at the same time?"

Kara shrugged " Do you have a better idea, cause if you do I'd like to hear it?"

Mark shook his head no " Can I help with whatever you are doing?"

Kara poked her head back out " I am trying to sabotage the cooling system for the bar "

Mark grunted " Let me try, you should know that the restaurant has a cooling system also and I have tinkered around with it a little bit "

Kara backed out so Mark could get in and look at it " I found it and stripped the wires it needs, and it shouldn't take long before the hostage takers realise something is wrong "

Kara walked over and looked out then walked back to Mark " Good, they will have to send someone in to fix it and that will give the commander a chance to do something "

Mark grinned " I was wondering why you did that?"

Kara looked at Mark " We are going to have to act like we were in here doing things we shouldn't and hope Racetracks sees it for what it is, but I am glad Lee is not here "

Mark laughed " She will, I think we might have a harder time of convincing the other people we are together "

So they walked out holding on to each other acting like they had no idea what was happening. Kara wrapped her arms around his shoulders acting like she was trying to get her balance " You head to the president while I distract them "

Mark walked off and Kara put herself between Mark and Roslin and one of the three gunmen asking him " Would you mind getting me a drink I have been cut off?"

He sneered " Not right now, in case you haven't noticed all of you are being held hostage "

Kara stepped closer with one hand behind her back so she could reach her gun if necessary " Why are civilians holding other civilians hostage?"

Mark had made it to the President " If you must know we don't like cylons running free on the Galactica "

Kara chuckled " Would you rather them be put on your ship?"

The man gasped " Frak no "

Kara frowned " I don't see the problem then, besides from what I have heard they have already been protecting the fleet and Galactica "

The man practically screamed " That doesn't make up for what they did "

Kara nodded " I agree, but I have also had time to know that nothing we do will change what happened, it is time to move on and put our anger towards other things besides hating all of the cylons, some of them have realised their mistake and is now helping us. " Kara paused " I hope you are ready to kill other human beings because Commander Adama will never negotiate with anyone no matter the cost "

Kara walked away, then the man told her she couldn't leave

Kara heard Adama taking to the woman then she stopped " Is there a Captain Kara Thrace here?"

Kara stepped forward " That would be me "

Commander Adama wants to speak to you, she held out the phone and Kara grabbed it.

" Commander is Lee okay?" Kara asked rushing

" Lee is doing okay, how are you doing?"

" Don't tell him what is happening, please sir?" Kara practically begged

Adama coughed " I need a sit rep Captain "

Kara told him everything that she could with the woman standing next to her " That's all that I remember right now, sorry sir "

" It will have to do, we will be blasting through the door in five to ten minutes have our people move out of the way of the falling debris, I am not going to listen to another minute of her demands, I am ending this now "

Kara glanced at the woman " Yes sir, I understand " then she handed the phone back to the waiting woman.

Before Kara walked away she looked at the woman " I hope whatever your reason is for doing this, that it is worth the possibility that humans may die because of it "

Kara and Duck along with Keeper and Racetrack had suddenly started moving customers to the bar behind anything to shield the blast.

One of them stopped Starbuck " What are you doing?"

Kara stood up " If your boss is stupid enough to go against the military and Commander Adama, then I am going to try and cut the number of human causalities, now get the frak out of my way "

Kara saw his hand move to his gun getting ready to shoot her and in a split second she had drawn her gun and shot him between the eyes.

Before Kara had time to put her gun back the doors blasted open throwing metal shrapnel everywhere. Racetrack grabbed Starbuck and yanked her down.

Mark had thrown his body over the presidents to protect her and felt something hit him in his back " Are you okay Madame President?"

She saw his back when he moved off of her " I am, but you are not " then she shouted " We need a medic now "

When the blast was over they found the woman and two of her crew dead and the last one with a bullet between his eyes, no civilians had been hurt bad except Mark.

Adama turned to look at Kara " Are you okay Kara?"

Kara stood looking over the destruction to the bar " Yeah I'm fine, but Mark is hurt pretty bad " Kara paused " I think the bar area can be fixed, I'm just happy no innocent person was killed today "

Kara walked over to see Mark after they had put him on a stretcher, Cottle said he needed surgery to remove a medium size piece of shrapnel out of his back. Racetrack had been in tears the whole time he was being prepped for transport.

Kara reached for one of his hands " I will stay and run the restaurant until you are able to run it yourself, and I am sorry my plan got you hurt " Kara winked " I think you made a lot of points with Roslin though "

Mark looked at her and smiled " Thank you for the offer, but I believe there are other things you need to do like talk to Lee tonight Kara and I mean it " Mark made them stop the stretcher " Kara you can help me by getting Adam over here, he usually does most of the work anyway "

Kara nodded " I will call Adam now, and I promise to try and talk to Lee, but that is all I am promising to do right now "

Mark left so Kara laid down on his couch and pulled herself into a ball letting the silence envelope her as she fell asleep only to wake up shaking after dreaming that the cylons had taken Lee away from her.

Willow was still angry with Kara, but she needed to know about Mark so she walked in and sat on the coffee table and looked at Kara " I only want to know about Mark, is he okay?"

Kara sat up " He looked okay when I saw him, but Cottle said he needed surgery to remove shrapnel that flew into his back as he protected the president "

Willow stood up " That's not good enough, tell me how to find out more "

Kara got up pulling on her clothes " Ask Adam he will know or he can find out for you "

Willow hated to ask again " Are you going to the Galactica to check on him?"

Kara finished dressing and was putting her hair in a pony tail " No, I am going to the Aurora, by the way has she contacted you lately?"

Willow snorted as she was walking out " No and I don't really see why she would want to with the way you have been acting "

Kara had not made her mind up, that was why she was going to the Aurora, thinking that if she went to Temple her questions might be answered.

[BREAK]-***************************************************************************************************************

On the base star Caprica was putting the filter into Natalie when eight walked in " What are the two of you doing?"

Natalie spoke first " How much do you know about the cylon god?"

Eight shrugged " Not very much, only what Cavil tells us "

Caprica spoke next " What if I told you that the colonials gods do exist, because I have seen proof of it and I think Cavil is trying to set himself up as the cylon god?"

Eight asked " What proof have you seen?"

Caprica smiled " I saw and talked to Aurora myself and she told me her chosen one needed to be protected or we would never find a home "

Natalie felt eight needed to know " Boomer and Athena are both helping and protecting the chosen one "

The eight had to know " Did Athena and Boomer swear to protect the chosen one before they talked to Aurora?"

Caprica frowned " They had already decided to side with the humans before anyone knew about the chosen one, and now that they do they swore to Aurora to help and protect the chosen one and in return they could live among the humans as humans when the chosen one finds them a place to call home "

Natalie had enough " Why don't you just tell us what you want eight?"

Eight sat down " I miss Athena and Boomer, the other eights here seem empty somehow, so I will help you if it means I can one day see them again "

Caprica was still hesitant to trust her " Let me think about it eight, I need to know I can trust you, but something doesn't feel right "

Natalie walked out with eight " Caprica didn't mean you can't join us, she just needs to know without a doubt she can trust you " Natalie thought she heard someone and moved farther down the corridor " What we are doing is very important and if you were to tell anyone about what was said today I don't think Aurora will be very forgiving "

Eight looked at her " Our god isn't real and the humans gods are real, shouldn't all of the cylons know about this?"

Frak Natalie cursed, she should have listened to Caprica and left the eight alone " No eight, we can't just start announcing something this big, and besides I figure there will be a religious war between the cylons and you need to pick your side now "

Eight yelled " I just tried to and Caprica shut me out, how can I prove to her that she can trust me? "

Natalie had an idea " Cavil has always liked the eights, so try to get close to him and try and find out what he is up to, the sooner the better "

Eight nodded and walked away.

[BREAK]**************************************************************************************************************

Mark had come out of surgery, but Cottle said the shrapnel had cut into him deep and he would have to stay in life station for at least a week giving the antibodies time to work and he wanted to keep an eye on the stitches. Maggie shuddered when Cottle had told them Mark had to have twenty-five stitches. Maggie looked across the bed where President Roslin had been since he came out of surgery, she wished she would leave.

Racetrack looked up when Apollo came in " I was just told everything, how is he doing Maggie?"

She sighed cutting her eyes at Roslin " Doc says he has to stay in here for a week, but after that he would be past the worst of it "

Lee nodded " Let me know if I need to change your CAP rotation, okay?"

Maggie smiled " I will, thanks Apollo " She wasn't sure if she should say anything or not, so she just did " Starbuck had to shoot one of the bad guys, she shot him between the eyes right before the door blasted open, I pulled her down, so she is okay, I guess "

Lee looked at her " What do you mean by you guess she's okay?"

Maggie shrugged " I don't know if she has ever had to shoot and kill someone so close to her before, I'm sure she is okay though "

Roslin snorted " I doubt the almighty Starbuck even gives a rats ass about killing someone "

Lee crossed his arms " Why are you here Madame President?"

Roslin nodded at Mark " Mark saved my life tonight and I want to thank him, that's all "

Lee suddenly thought about the restaurant " Who is going to run the restaurant while Mark is here?"

Maggie chuckled " Starbuck offered, but Mark told her to get Adam "

Roslin jumped back in " Who is Adam?"

Lee shook his head " He helps Mark with the restaurant "

Maggie stood up " Can I talk to you outside Captain?"

Lee nodded " Sure, we will be right back " he said looking at Roslin

Once they were outside " Lee you need to check on Willow she is by herself over there with no way of knowing what is going on "

Lee chuckled " I will go and see her now, I kinda miss her openness and her curiosity "

Racetrack smiled " Thanks, I wish I could send Roslin with you she is making me batty "

Lee chuckled as he walked away " Good luck "

Lee felt better after seeing Kara earlier and even said a prayer to Aurora, he knew he shouldn't get his hopes up, but he truly believed him and Kara were supposed to spend their lives together.

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

PART TWO TO FOLLOW-CHAPTER-38 WOULD NOT UPLOAD-It finally uploaded ( woo hoo )

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

* * *

( Leave a comment )


	38. Chapter 38

A DIFFERENT BEGINNING-CHAPTER-38

THIS IS AN A.U. STORY WITH BITS OF CANON IN IT.  
KARA AND LEE MEET FOR THE FIRST TIME ON THE DAY THEIR WORLDS WERE DESTROYED.

KARA AND LEE ARE A LITTLE DIFFERENT SINCE THEY HAVE JUST MET AND DO NOT HAVE ANY BAGGAGE.

AS ALWAYS ALL MISTAKES ARE MINE.

[BREAK]**************************************************************************************************************

SORRY MY UPDATE IS LATE, MY STORY IS TRYING TO CHANGE AND AFTER THINKING ABOUT IT I HAVE DECIDED THAT AFTER THE CYLONS ARE SEPARATED INTO TWO FACTIONS I MAY ALSO SHOW FACTIONS BETWEEN THE HUMANS...LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK, PLEASE.

CHAPTER-38

Lee stopped by the CIC to let his dad know that he was taking a raptor for a few hours. " I need to check on Willow, she has no way of finding out how Mark is or even what's happened and I haven't seen Kara at all since the hostages took over the bar " Lee paused " Why didn't you tell me about it?"

" Kara asked me not to and I honestly didn't have time to fill you in about the situation " Adama checked the roster " You have Cap in three hours make sure your back by then and tell them both the old man says hi "

Lee nodded and headed to the hangar bay angry that Kara would want it kept from him, he saw the chief " I need a raptor for an hour or two and before you ask the commander knows all about it "

The chief grunted and yelled across the bay for Cally to join them " The Captain needs a raptor for a couple of hours, pick one that has already been serviced and has enough fuel in it "

They both watched as the chief left the hangar " What is wrong with the chief, Cally?"

Cally shrugged " It could be because of Boomer, or Racetrack having him knocked out, or it could be that none of us seem to know what is going on anymore and it has made us all a bit jumpy and I imagine the chief feels left out of the loop "

Cally rattled on as she checked the raptor out " She is ready, sir "

Apollo nodded " Thanks for telling me Cally and I will make sure the chief has more information "

Cally nodded " Thank you, sir " she walked off to work on another bird

Lee sat down and buckled up before firing the raptor up " Galactica, Apollo I need a departure lane "

A voice Lee didn't recognize responded " Lane two is clear Apollo "

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

Lee wondered where Kara was, he had expected her to be in life station, Lee landed and locked the raptor up so no one would take it before heading to the restaurant. When he entered he saw Adam waiting on a couple, so he sat at the table that overlooked the garden area to wait on him.

It wasn't long before Adam joined him " I didn't think you would be here so soon?"

Adam shrugged " I came as soon as Kara called and told me what happened, how is Mark? "

Lee thought of Racetrack sitting by his bed " He is going to be fine, but Doc wants to keep him in life station for at least a week to make sure "

Adam got up and brought back two beers and passed one to Lee " Kara is planning on staying on the Aurora until she can fly, so you or your dad need to find a reason for her to return to the Galactica "

Lee had watched him closely as he said that " You don't want her on the Aurora since you can't be there anymore with her "

Adam nodded " That is one reason, the other is that the two of you need to fix what happened between you, if you won't do it for yourselves at least do it for humanity "

Lee took a drink of his beer " Kara said she didn't know if she could get past what she saw, but she did say she still loved me, she just has a hard time looking at me and it scares me knowing that she might never get past what happened, and then I find out she didn't want me to know what happened last night "

Adam had heard enough, he might not know much about Kara, but he knew Lee and it was time for them to see each other, so he got up " Come with me Lee, right now "

Lee followed Adam although he had no idea what Adam wanted. Lee reached and grabbed his arm to stop him " I want to know where we are going and what is going on with you, before I take another step "

Adam sighed " Kara is here in Mark's room, she stayed the night and from what I can tell, her and Willow are not getting along at all "

Lee was confused " Why would they be into it?"

Adam went back to walking " I think it is about you and Mark, Willow doesn't like the way Kara is acting lately "

Lee stopped " Wait a minute, are you planning on sending me into the room with both of them in there?"

Adam nodded " Yep " then he opened Mark's door and shoved Lee in, then pulled it shut behind him.

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

Willow went back to Mark's room one more time hoping to change Kara's mind, this time she knocked and after hearing " It's open " she went in.

Kara glanced at her as she came out of the bathroom " Did you forget to tell me something Willow?"

Willow walked around wringing her hands together " I can't get Aurora to come into my projection, and it might be because you and Lee are having problems "

Kara sighed as she sat on the end of the bed " Willow I highly doubt mine and Lee's problems will affect my destiny "

Willow stopped " It might " she paused to gather her thoughts " Kara if it had been you that was drugged and set up instead of Lee, what do you think he would have done?"

Kara frowned " He would have been as hurt as me I guess, except he would have confronted me instead of running away like I did "

Kara's face turned serious " Willow I don't know how to explain the pain I felt when I saw Lee about to have sex with another woman, to a cylon who doesn't feel things like humans do " Kara added in a lower voice " Right now I would give anything to not feel anything, I know I love Lee, but until the moment I saw him with another woman I didn't how much I loved him, then I felt my heart break and I don't want to ever fill that way again, it's frakking painful "

Willow sat on the edge of the bed next to Kara " You are right when you say I don't understand pain like you do, but that is because I don't love a man like you do " Willow paused " Aurora did let me feel what loving someone would feel like, that is how I know I love you, Athena, Boomer, Helo, Eloshi and Lee like I do, because to me you are all my family now, even your dad and Mark "

Kara suddenly thought she might know why Willow has been so upset " You are afraid your family is going to fall apart because of what is happening between Lee and I, aren't you? "

Willow bobbed her head as usual just slower this time, and tears fell from her eyes for the first time " Kara I know you need to get past this, but you need to turn toward Lee to do it, not turn away from him, don't let Dee win "

Kara suddenly remembered the wish she had asked for had just came through " Thank you Willow " Willow looked at her confused " I wished for someone to just tell me what to do so I could just do it "

Willow jumped up hoping " Kara are you saying you are going back to the Galactica and Lee?"

Kara stood up and faced her with a smirk " I guess I am Willow "

Kara had barely finished speaking before Willow had closed the distance between them and hugged her " I am sorry about the prostitute comment Kara I was angry "

Kara had yet to hug Willow she was just standing there with her arms hanging by her side, but then Willow apologized and Kara figured she should hug her a little, but the truth was that Kara needed a hug badly, so she hugged Willow. " I know you didn't mean it Willow "

They both turned to look when the door opened and shut quickly to see Lee standing there like he was lost, both forgetting they were still holding onto each other.

Willow surprised both Kara and Lee when she let go of Kara and ran to Lee and threw her arms around him hugging him like she had Kara.

Lee looked at Kara with a 'what's going on look ' over Willow's shoulder.

Kara smiled " Just go with it Lee "

Lee winked at Kara then hugged Willow before stepping back " What's up with all the hugging Willow?" Lee knew Kara would not have initiated any hugging

Willow turned her head to look at Kara silently asking permission Kara nodded, so she turned back to Lee " Kara is going home today "

Lee looked at Kara " Your dad just shoved me through the door because he said you and Willow were not getting along, what changed?"

Kara walked over to them " Willow, I need to talk to Lee alone " she saw Willow was hesitate about leaving " I promise everything will be okay and I will see you before I leave, okay?"

Willow looked at both of them " Okay " then she turned to leave the room.

Lee stopped her " Wait, I wanted to let you know that Mark is going to be okay, the doctor wants him to stay in life station for a week until he is sure there is no infection and Racetrack and Roslin were with him when I left and dad said to tell you both the old man said hi "

" Thanks for telling me Lee " Willow smiled and looked at Kara " The old man is on the list also "

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

Now that Willow had left, Kara and Lee stood there both wondering what to say.

Kara broke the silence " I am glad Mark is going to be okay, I didn't have much of a plan except making it up as I went along" she paused "Although I did use the opportunity to make sure Mark took care of the president, I just hate that he got hurt in the process "

Lee chuckled forgetting he was upset with her for keeping it from him " I think that might have worked out too well, Roslin has been by his bedside since he came out of surgery and I think Racetrack may be on the verge of kicking her out "

Kara grinned " Mark is going to kill me, but on the bright side she might very well make him her vice president, which is just what we need to happen in order to handle Roslin if she doesn't change her mind "

Lee moved to sit on the end of the bed " Kara why have you and Willow been having problems?"

Kara turned away from him for a minute trying to find the right words before turning back to answer " It's not just one thing Lee, it is a lot of different things, but mostly it was about how I was treating you "

Lee nodded " I understood Kara after I thought about how I would have felt if I saw you like you saw me, I wish I could forget it even if I only remember bits and pieces of what happened to me, so it's understandably that you are having a hard time with it "

Kara sat beside him on the bed " Thanks for understanding Lee, but I have decided not to let Dee win " she picked her feet up and turned toward Lee with her arms wrapped around her knees " It hurt when I saw you with that woman and although the image will forever be in the back of my mind I am not willing to lose you over it, I love you Lee and I can't picture my life without you in it "

Lee frowned " Kara why did you ask dad not to let me know that you were in a hostage situation?"

Kara shrugged " I needed for you to be safe and if you knew you would have came and I had to much too worry about Lee, I didn't want to worry about you too "

Lee reached for her hands intending to pull her into his lap, when Kara decided she wanted to be as close as possible, so she straddled his legs and wrapped hers around his back. She kissed him softly before laying her head in the crook of his neck and sighing with relief knowing now that she could let go of the past even if she couldn't forget it.

Lee was surprised at her tenderness and wondered what had happened since he last saw her, aside from what happened in the bar. Whatever was wrong between her and Willow, they must have straightened it out. For the moment Lee decided to quit thinking and just enjoy this moment before the next crisis happened and held her tighter.

Kara finally pulled back to look at Lee " How long before you have to return to the Galactica?"

Lee glanced at his watch " I am on CAP in an hour and a half, why?"

Kara didn't answer, she kissed him instead as she began to run her hands across his back then one onto the back of his head holding him to her, so he wouldn't pull away. She moved her mouth to his ear and whispered " I need you now Lee "

That was all he needed to hear as he kissed her before standing up with her wrapped around him still and laid her onto the bed untangling her legs around him as he lowered himself over her deepening the kiss and then for the second time they made love while Lee whispered " I love you Kara " remembering he hadn't said it back as she had told him earlier that she loved him.

They lay there for several minutes after making love before Kara giggled " I can't believe we just did that in Mark's bed "

Lee chuckled " I don't think he would care, but I'm pretty sure he wouldn't want to know about it "

Kara turned to face him " Let's go home Lee "

Lee kissed her quickly then sat up " Hurry up and get dressed you still have to tell Willow good-bye "

[BREAK}**************************************************************************************************************

Natalie went to Caprica's room after talking to the eight. " Eight said she would help by trying to figure out what Cavil was up to "

It was time for Caprica to fill Natalie in on the rest of her plan since she now had a filter " Natalie I need to try something and with us both having a filter now is the time to test it "

Natalie sat down " Okay Caprica, what is it?"

Caprica sat beside her " Boomer already knows and now that Cavil's raiders have found the area the fleet is in, I am going to try and blow this base star from within "

Natalie eyes got wide " What if Cavil figures out who did it?"

Caprica sighed " With the filters we have he will not be able to know who did it and my hopes are that he suspects somebody else, which will cause our people to start turning on each other "

Natalie stood up and paced " Caprica all of us don't believe in what Cavil is doing, so wouldn't it be unfair to them?"

Caprica chuckled " We will all download, so Cavil will not be able to prove who caused it "

Natalie nodded " Okay, but why are you doing it?"

Caprica now stood up " In case we ever have to protect the fleet we need to make sure we can do this, this time will only be for practice "

Natalie finally agreed " Have you thought anymore about helping me with Leobon?"

Caprica shrugged " I'm sorry I haven't had time " she paused thinking and an idea came to her " We need to find a way to make sure that Cavil thinks Leobon is to blame for the base star exploding, that way we can keep our cover and get rid of Leobon for you "

Natalie nodded in agreement " Why haven't you asked me why I want Leobon boxed?"

Caprica looked at her " As long as it has nothing to do with Kara or Willow I don't care, plus there are a lot of cylons that want Leobon gone "

Natalie chuckled " That's true, when are you going to blow up this base star?"

Caprica gave it some thought " Tonight unless he goes after the fleet before it happens, then we do it immediately "

Natalie had once last thing to say " We need to be each others alibi " she started to leave when Caprica spoke again " Let me know if eight comes up with something we don't know "

Natalie nodded and left the room.

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

Boomer was on watch in the CIC when she felt and heard Caprica " Are sure that is wise Caprica?" she asked without having to speak aloud.

After a thirty second delay Caprica spoke " Yes, Cavil is planning something, but keeping us all in the dark" Caprica paused "Cavil knows the area where the fleet is located, I will try to explode the base star before it reaches the fleet, but in case I can't manage it by then, I will destroy it the second we reach the fleet "

Boomer knew Caprica would do what she said " I will let the commander know right away, thanks Caprica and I hope we will see other again "

Caprica needed to ask her advice " There is an eight on our base star who wants to join us in what we are doing, but she has no idea what it is, Natalie trusts her, but I am not sure I do " Caprica sighed " What should we do Boomer?'

Boomer looked around hoping for inspiration " Test her, that's what I would do " she paused " I will also ask Athena she knew our models better than I do "

Boomer cut the connection and found Colonel Tigh watching her " I need to speak to the commander Colonel, it's important "

Tigh didn't know very much about the two cylons, but the commander had told him he could trust her " As long as there is no upcoming threat I will call and have him meet you in the situation room "

Boomer saluted " Thank you Colonel, and we are safe for the moment " " then she went to the situation room, later she would have to track Athena down.

BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

As Lee flew him and Kara back to the fleet he asked " How much longer before you are cleared to fly?"

Kara looked sideways at Lee " Two more days, but Cottle wants me in the gym to work on my muscles and I have to squeeze a ball that he gave me as often as possible to strengthen my hands "

Lee grinned " When I get off CAP I can help work out your leg muscles somewhere private "

Kara smirked " That sounds better than the gym " Kara paused as Lee made his approach to the Galactica " Do you know what Roslin has been up to?"

Lee frowned " No, but I warned her, I told her I didn't think Aurora would like it very much "

Kara looked out the window as Lee brought the raptor in " I have a feeling that Eloshi is going to have to tell everyone the Aurora's chosen one is in the fleet "

They exited the raptor, Lee pulled her to a stop " I have to get ready for CAP, what are you going to do?" he was worried she would go to the brig.

Kara shrugged " Not real sure "

Lee grinned " I have some flight rosters to fill out and it would help me if you could do them, since you know the pilots better than I do, please "

Kara rolled her eyes " Fine Apollo I will do them, but then you will owe me one " she said with a glint in her eyes.

[BREAK]**************************************************************************************************************

Commander Adama was on his way to the situation room when he saw Elshoi and Roslin who were arguing, so he stopped.

Eloshi spoke first " Commander Adama Madame President is threatening to go public and say the military has lied about Earth and refuses to stop following Pythia "

Roslin stood straight " It was not a threat, but the truth. If you can't show solid evidence about Aurora we have no choice but to go with Pythia "

Adama sighed " Both of you come with me I have a meeting with Boomer that I am late for, perhaps we will find out more "

Boomer stood up fast when she saw them enter the room and saluted Adama.

Before sitting down he looked at Boomer " At ease Lt. "

After everyone sat down Adama let her know it was alright to speak " I got a message from Caprica she made a filter for her Natalie which allows them to control which thought and memories download "

After Boomer stayed silent Adama said " What else Boomer?"

Boomer sighed " Caprica said one of the scouts jumped back with information about which area the fleet was in " Boomer paused letting that sink in "The base star that comes after us will be the one Caprica is on and she said if she could not destroy the base star before finding us then she would make sure it was destroyed before it could harm the fleet "

Adama was glad, but he had to ask " Cavil is going to suspect one of them, so how can Caprica be sure she won't be found out?"

Boomer smiled " Cavil is already tired of listening to Leobon rattle on and on about Starbuck, so it would not take much for him to believe Leobon is behind this "

Roslin joined in " I thought you all voted on most everything, so with Leobon gone that would put Cavil with the majority of votes, right?"

Boomer nodded " It would give him Doral, Dianna, Simon and himself against the eights and the sixes, but Caprica thinks she can get Simon to join us" again she paused " Cavil cannot know about this or he won't box Leobon "

Adama sighed " Which means you need one more besides Simon to have the majority, any ideas ?"

Eloshi answered " I think Kara and Lee need to be involved in this, maybe they will be able to come up with a solution "

Boomer jumped in before Roslin could speak " Sir, I think Starbuck can bring Dianna around, she is a very religious cylon and if Aurora would allow Dianna to see her I know she would help us "

Roslin shouted " I can't believe this, you want a goddess to show herself to a cylon when no human has ever seen her, besides there is no proof that Aurora exists "

Adama looked at her worried " Madame President everything that is said in this meeting will remain here, you can not tell anyone and you are wrong Eloshi has spoken to Aurora "

Adama turned back to Boomer " What if Starbuck can't convince her?"

Boomer shrugged " Then we try for Simon to tie the votes and will probably go to war with each other "

Eloshi answered " Actually only Willow can ask Aurora "

Roslin jumped in " Who is Willow?"

Eloshi answered quickly " She is an oracle "

Adama nodded " You're right Eloshi, so I want you to go to Willow and find out if she can do it, meanwhile I am putting the fleet on alert "

Roslin was pissed " I still want proof that Aurora is actually real or I will be forced to go ahead with my plan "

Eloshi sighed " I need to talk to Kara and call a religious meeting of all the religions and tell them Aurora's chosen one is in the fleet if Kara and Aurora agree "

Adama stood " This meeting is over until we get answers as what to do and Madame President I strongly suggest you wait before starting something " Adama paused thinking of what Kara and Lee had said " Roslin I suggest you take the time to consider naming a vice-president, this meeting is adjourned "

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

When Roslin left the meeting she went to see Mark in life station.

Luckily Racetrack was not there, so she sat down. " How are you feeling today Mark?"

Mark was sitting up " Better now that I can sit up, how are you?"

Roslin sighed " Mark I need a favor from you "

Mark smiled " I'll help you anyway I can Madame President "

Roslin grinned " You can call me Laura in private, anyway I need a vice-president and I would like for it to be you "

Mark frowned " I don't know that much about politics Laura, I'm not sure I would be much help "

Roslin chuckled " Maybe not, but you know people and deal with them daily in your restaurant, anyway I have to run it by the counsel before it can be formal, I just want you to think about it, I need someone like you Mark "

Mark shook her hand as she stood up to leave " If I do this I still want to be involved in my restaurant Laura and keep my room there "

Roslin nodded " That's fair besides Gauis still ran his lab and stayed on the Galactica, I just need someone to watch my back and back my plans for the fleet "

Mark nodded knowing Kara wanted him there to help her and Aurora therefore helping the people of the fleet.

Before she turned to leave " I will get back to you tomorrow, I plan to call an emergency meeting with the counsel right away "

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

After Kara changed into her uniform she went to Lee's office to work on the flight rosters. She only managed a couple of pages before her hand started hurting, so she stopped and grabbed the ball Cottle gave her.

Kara had her feet on the desk and was leaning back squeezing the ball when someone knocked, without stopping she yelled " Come in "

Kara stopped when she saw it was Eloshi " Hey, I didn't know you were on the Galactica, have a seat "

Eloshi sat down " I just came from a meeting and Roslin is threatening to expose that the commander doesn't know where earth is and that we should follow Pythia "

Kara laughed " Sounds like something she would do, so is she?"

Eloshi sighed " The commander told her to hold off and wants me to talk to Willow about asking Aurora to talk to Dianna "

Kara put her feet down " Why does he want her to do that?"

Eloshi stood up so she could pace as she talked " Caprica and Natalie are going to blow up the base star they are on either before it finds us and if not then when it finds us. There is an eight who knows they are up to something and wants to join them, Caprica hasn't decided yet. As to Dianna in order to over rule or at least tie with Cavil they need Dianna " Eloshi paused " They want to set Leobon up as the one who blows the base star hoping he gets boxed because Cavil is sick of listening to his obsession about you, so it should be fairly easy to do "

Kara smirked " Wow, so all this hinges on Aurora talking to Dianna and Caprica trusting an eight and what happens if it doesn't work?"

Eloshi stopped " Then Caprica will try and get Simon to side with them and more than likely a war will break out between the two factions "

Starbuck grinned " What can I do to help?"

Eloshi grinned this time as she held out out two books " Read these, one is about Aurora and the other one you are probably familiar with, it talks about all the gods "

Kara frowned " Great, I already have to squeeze this stupid ball and now I have to read, this officially sucks, sorry "

Eloshi laughed " You will have plenty to do soon, and I have to go see Willow, I'll let you know what happens "

After Eloshi left Kara put the books away and grabbed her ball before leaving Lee's office.

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

Kara was sitting in the mess hall eating when Boomer sat down across from her " You finally made it back to the Galactica, I see "

She was glad to see Boomer " How is it going with the Chief?"

Boomer shrugged " After his outburst he pretends I'm not around unless I order him to do something "

Kara frowned " How come you get to order him, I can't?"

Boomer smiled " I think Commander Adama has pretty much told everyone including the Colonel to do what I say and he will explain it later "

Kara's frown deepened " That's not fair "

Boomer changed the subject " I just left a meeting and "

Kara stopped her " I know all about it Eloshi filled me in, but I think Caprica needs to be told if Aurora decides to speak to Deanna before it happens "

Boomer nodded " I'll let her know it is a possibility, I am worried about Roslin "

Kara looked up " I'll talk to Mark and see if she has asked him yet, who is the eight trying to get close to Caprica?"

Boomer looked at Kara " I think she is the one that was with Leobon when he had you and Caprica's not sure she can trust her "

Kara thought back over that time " Tell Caprica I think she can, at least my gut feels like she can "

Boomer nodded " I will tell her, how are you and Lee doing, he loves you Kara "

Kara smiled " We are going to be okay, although I would feel better if we could give Dee to Cavil "

Boomer was curious " Have you been to the brig or is that your next stop?"

Kara shrugged " I'm not going simply because that is what she wants and I'm not going to play games with another psycho, Leobon was one to many "

Boomer got up " I will see you later I need to check on Athena "

Kara stopped her " Tell her I said hi and tell Helo to come by the CAG'S office "

[BREAK}***************************************************************************************************************

* * *

( Leave a comment )


	39. Chapter 39

K/L ZONE SOUL-MATES

* * *

A Different Beginning-Chapter- 39

A.N.-THIS IS AU STORY THAT BEGINS WHEN THE TWELVE WORLDS ARE DESTROYED

- KARA AND LEE MEET FOR THE FIRST TIME.

-I AM WRITING THIS STORY SOLO, SO ALL MISTAKES ARE MINE

[BREAK]*****************************************************************************************************************

CHAPTER-39- A DIFFERENT BEGINNING

[BREAK]****************************

Kara left the mess hall heading to life station to visit Mark. She still felt guilty that he was injured.

She peeked through the curtain to make sure Roslin was not there before she went in.

Mark smiled when he saw her " It took you long enough to come see me "

Kara smirked " Lee told me Roslin had not left your side since you've been in here, so I waited until she left "

Mark chuckled " Well it worked she asked me to be her vice-president, but she has to run it by the counsel members first "

Kara sat in the chair by his bed " Mark I'm sorry, I didn't plan on you getting hurt "

He glared at her " It wasn't your fault Kara, by the way how is Adam doing?"

Kara wouldn't look directly at him " He is doing okay, I stayed in your place last night instead of coming back here and Willow is staying in Adam's room helping out " Kara thought it was weird that she had to keep calling her dad Adam instead of Daniel, but she was slowly getting used to it.

Mark waited for her to look at him " Why did you stay in my room Kara?"

Kara shook her head " I didn't plan on it, I was tired and thought I would rest a bit " she laughed " I guess I was more tired than I thought "

Mark reached for her hand, she had laid on the bed in front of her " How are you and Lee doing?'

Kara smiled " We are okay, Lee is a persistent frakker, it makes it hard for me to stay away from him "

Mark smirked " That's a good excuse Kara, but we both know you don't do anything you don't want to do "

Kara pulled her hand away " So I guess you and Racetrack are officially together now?"

Mark chuckled " Yeah we are, thanks for setting us up, I owe you one "

Kara got up to go " Just make sure you stay close to Roslin and we will call it even "

[BREAK]*************************************************************************************************************

Adama was on his way back to office silently cursing that Roslin had heard about Willow, and hoped she had not connected Kara to Aurora or she would know Kara was the chosen one.

He hoped she believed Eloshi when she said Willow was an oracle, because if she found out Willow was a cylon and was on Cloud Nine there is no telling what she would do.

Adama also needed to keep Kara away from as much exposure as he could and make sure she kept silent when Eloshi called the religious meeting.

He came to a stop when he thought of the damage Roslin could do if she found out that Kara was the chosen one.

Adama started walking again thinking of a way to throw Roslin off if she asked about Kara.

Adama chuckled, he could always put her in the brig until things settled down, but only after she decided on a vice-president.

He reached his office to find Kara waiting outside " What's up Starbuck?"

Kara shrugged " Just stopped by to visit, sir "

Adama unlocked his office and stepped to the side for her to enter.

Kara waited until Adama sat down before sitting down also " After I visited Mark I had Cottle look at my hands, he said I should try flying a raptor and if everything went well he would let me back in a viper in the next two days "

Adama smiled " I'm glad to hear that I know you miss flying, how are you and Lee doing?"

Kara kinda half smiled " Better now that we have talked and we both know I am still adjusting to what happened "

Adama nodded " Good, I would hate it if Dee had succeeded in tearing you two apart "

Kara frowned " I knew she liked Lee, but I never thought she would do something to hurt him like that "

Adama sighed " I feel partly responsible for inviting her to eat with Lee and I "

Kara smirked " Putting her in the brig and bringing charges against her will hopefully put an end to her obsession of Lee "

Adama wanted to change the subject " Kara I would like to meet your dad soon, if that's okay with you "

Kara had thought the same thing " I am sure he would like to meet you also, I just don't want to be around when you do "

" Why don't you want to be there Kara?" Adama asked, thinking if he found out why she didn't want to be there when they met he might be able to help them reconnect.

Kara sighed " It's nothing really, it's just that I haven't had the time to talk with him much, but I will get around to it eventually "

Adama needed to ask her something else " I just came from a meeting earlier and Caprica doesn't know if she wants to ask Dianna or Simon to join them, what do you think?"

Kara got up and walked around his office thinking " Personally I would go for Simon, he is a doctor and Athena told me he wasn't into the religion as much as the others and Dianna is very religious and she believes in the one god without question, and I don't think a lot of the models trust or like her very much "

Adama stood up and came around the desk " Let Boomer know about Simon as soon as possible, I have to go I'm on shift in the CIC soon"

Kara walked out ahead of him and stopped, waiting on him to close the hatch " Sir, are you sure you're are okay about Lee and I ?"

He pulled her into a hug " Yes I'm sure, I have come to realize that you and Lee are two different kinds of people that fit together perfectly making each other whole, I hope you understand what I am saying "

Kara grinned " I do, and just so you know I love Lee, this isn't just some fling, it's a whole lot more and sometimes it scares the frak out of me "

Adama was going to walk away when he remembered about Eloshi " Kara when Eloshi calls the religious meeting I want you to keep your head down, so you won't draw attention to yourself "

Kara saluted " Yes Sir " before walking the opposite direction than Adama.

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

Kara went in search of Boomer she was off shift and she had no idea where she could be. After checking the bunk room and the mess hall she went to the flight deck, and stopped when she saw Boomer talking to the Chief.

She noticed Anders heading her way and wondered what he wanted.

Sam walked up to her slowly " When will Cottle let you back in your viper?"

Kara who was still watching Boomer and the Chief turned to glance at him " Two days hopefully, how has the Chief been doing ?"

Sam looked across the deck at them " It could go either way, I have told him she is the same woman he loved and that Helo loves his cylon and that we all trust her "

Kara frowned " I told him to make up his mind, so Boomer wouldn't have to worry about it everyday "

Kara started walking away when Sam asked " Where are you going?"

Kara stopped and turned around " Not that it is any of your business, but I need to talk to Boomer now "

Chief Tyrol saw Starbuck coming and said in a low voice " We will talk again later, Starbuck is headed this way "

[BREAK]*************************************************************************************************************

Kara knew they stopped talking the minute they saw her " Boomer I need to speak to you privately, if you have the time ?"

Boomer nodded " We can talk now I'm not due in the CIC for an hour "

" Chief how are you doing?' Kara asked

The chief answered emotionless " Pretty good, even though we have no idea what is going on around here "

Kara frowned " You just do your job and if anything comes up we will fill you in as much as we can "

Boomer took two steps away from Galen " Can we talk in the CAG's office?"

Kara nodded and walked away with Boomer " How does he feel about you now?"

Boomer shrugged " I think he is getting used to it, right now I am just trying to be friends with him again "

They had reached Lee's office and stayed silent until they were inside.

Kara sat behind the desk leaving the other chair for Boomer.

Kara spoke first " I have been thinking about Caprica and I think it will be safer to ask Simon to help us instead of Deanna "

Boomer was not as sure " Why do you think Simon will help us?"

Kara leaned back " Athena said Simon was a doctor and a scientist, and as such he was not that interested in the cylon god "

Boomer sat forward " I will let her know, she will try to explode the base star tonight, they are trying to figure out how to make Cavil believe it was Leobon "

Kara stood up " Let me know what happens with Simon and the base star "

Boomer stood up " I will Starbuck, but you need to be more careful, I don't trust some of the civilians "

Kara chuckled " Neither do I "

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

Kara stayed in the office waiting on Lee to get back from CAP she really needed to see him.

Kara's thoughts were interrupted when someone knocked on the hatch " Enter "

In strolled Helo grinning with a lollipop in his mouth " I knew you would come back to the Galactica "

Kara ignored him " Are Athena and the baby okay?"

Helo grinned " They are both doing great, what about you, are you okay?"

Kara sighed " I will be after things start settling down " Kara paused " I am afraid Eloshi religious meeting will not go smoothly "

Helo paused not wanting to add to her burden " We need raw tylium, enough to last us at least two years "

Kara cocked her head thinking " You know the cylons use tylium also and I'm sure Caprica can give us a location where to find some "

Helo chuckled " Hopefully one not crawling with cylons "

Helo frowned " Kara are you and Lee going to be okay?"

Kara smiled softly " Hopefully we will be better than okay one day soon "

Kara stood up " It's time for CAP to change and I want to watch Lee land, come on "

Helo and Kara walked side by side to the hangar bay and got there just in time to see the first vipers land.

Kara knew Lee would land last, so she watched Crashdown and Duck's vipers being towed in for the turn around, then watched as Lee landed perfectly.

When Lee got out of his viper he looked up and saw Kara and Helo and smiled at them. He went through his check list as quickly as he could then handed it to Cally walking over to the ladder to reach the upper deck where they were.

Helo asked " How was CAP?"

Lee frowned " Uneventful and boring "

Kara was tired of the chit-chat " Lee I need to see you in your office as soon as possible "

Lee wondered what she needed to see him about " I was heading there anyway let's go, I'll see you later Helo "

Helo grinned as they walked away.

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

Caprica and Natalie had been discussing the best way to blow the base star up when eight came into the room.

Eight looked at Natalie then Caprica " I'm sorry I haven't been able to find out what Cavil is up to, right now he seems determined to keep Leobon close " She paused " As you know he has threatened to kill any two that leaves a base star and told Leobon he would box him if he didn't shut up about Starbuck "

Caprica still had the one filter and with the eight coming around so often she had decided to see if she could trust her " Eight why do you want to help your sisters and us?"

Eight thought about it " I don't trust Cavil or Leobon after what my sisters and Starbuck told me and I have never trusted Deanna and since my sisters and you two trust Starbuck I would feel safer with all of you "

Natalie spoke up " If you join us you will have to go against the other cylons, can you do that?"

Eight nodded " Yes, especially since my sisters have and I trust them and I need to help, the other eights have no feelings, they are just here like they are mindless "

Caprica looked at Natalie who nodded, so she looked at the eight " The first thing we need to do is implant a filter in you like ours in case you download you will be able to control what memories you don't want Cavil or anyone else to know "

Eight nodded " What happens after that?"

Natalie answered " We will tell you after the filter is in place and we need to do it now "

Caprica was checking for an empty lab room " The number three lab is clear let's do it there "

After the filter was put in place they went to Caprica's room " We need to find a way to blow this base star up and blame it on Leobon if we can "

Natalie spoke before they went into more detail " You need a name eight would you like to choose or should we?"

Eight smiled " I want to be called Eliza, it means faithful and I promise to be faithful to your cause "

Caprica smiled feeling a little better about trusting her " Eliza, I like it and it's meaning "

Natalie spoke next " Eliza do you have any ideas about a way to pull this off "

Eliza actually had an idea " The raiders in the bay are full of tylium and if we can slip a drug into Leobon and somehow convince him Starbuck is close and give him the coordinates he will take a raider to go after her and if we set it to detonate in the bay Cavil will blame Leobon and probably box him for sabotage "

Caprica was surprised, that was a really good idea " He can't know we are behind this, so how do we get him to believe it "

Natalie had a thought " After we slip him the drug and it takes affect we can create a projection and hopefully Leobon will believe it is a vision "

Caprica was finally going to be able to help Starbuck and keep her word to Aurora " That will work, Eliza you get a raider rigged to explode and Natalie you need to get into a lab and try to find a drug that causes hallucinations and I will get Leobon to meet me in a room near the bay area, we will meet up in thirty minutes "

Caprica quickly contacted Boomer to let her know what they would be doing and Boomer told her what Starbuck said about Simon.

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

Boomer was due for a break, so after Caprica contacted her she took her break to go and find Starbuck to let her know.

Kara and Lee had finally made it to Lee's office and after locking the hatch they shared several intense kisses which was making Kara forget what she needed to talk to him about.

When he started trying to take her shirts off she backed up stopping him and as he tried to follow her she quickly spoke " Lee I really need to talk to you " that stopped him

Lee was trying to calm down " Can't it wait?"

Kara grinned shaking her head " No, I need to ask you something about our dads "

Lee laughed " Okay at least now I understand why you stopped us, I guess you thinking about them would make you uncomfortable with what I had in mind "

Kara laughed " Yeah, just saying our dads make me feel weird "

Lee went and sat behind his desk " Okay so what about them?"

Kara leaned against the wall " Your dad wants to meet my dad and it's okay, but I don't want to be there, so I thought it would be better if you introduced them "

Lee smiled " It's okay Kara I'll do it, but I think the fewer people that know he is your dad the better things will go, especially with Aurora and the chosen one being brought up in Eloshi's and Roslin's meetings "

Kara smirked " The old man has already told me to keep my head down and not voice any opinions on the subject "

Lee started to get up " Now can we get back to what we were doing?"

Before Kara could answer there was a knock on the hatch.

Kara smirked " I'm afraid we are going to have to wait " she said as she unlocked and opened the hatch to see Boomer standing there.

Kara opened the hatch all the way so she could come in " What's up Boomer?"

Boomer noticed the CAG " I'm glad you are here Apollo, you both need to hear this "

After Boomer explained it all Kara said " Gods I hope it all works out especially the part about Leobon and now we have another eight, what about Simon?"

Boomer shook her head " Caprica said she would try and talk to Simon after she was sure they succeeded "

Lee spoke his thoughts aloud " If Leobon is boxed then we will have the sixes and eights on our side and Simon if he agrees making it a tie, but if he refuses what will happen?"

Boomer frowned " The sixes and eights will have to go to war against the ones, threes, fours and the fives "

Kara shook her head " They won't win unless we help them "

Boomer pointed out the obvious " The Commander can't put the fleet at risk helping them "

Lee disagreed " He will have to, we will never have an advantage like this again "

Kara agreed " Okay let's say the Simon's agree and join the sixes and eights what would happen then?"

Boomer shrugged " Then the fight would be between the two factions and we have to pray Caprica and her side wins the war "

Lee got up " Either way we still need to be close in case Caprica needs us, I will let my dad know what is going to happen "

Kara had an insane thought " Boomer what if we used some of our pilots to help Caprica?"

Boomer thought about it " The best thing we can do to help is to take out the hub, that would help Caprica the most, but only after the sixes and eights have control of one or two base stars "

Lee stopped and turned away from leaving " What is the hub for?"

Boomer sighed " It is not like the resurrection ships that follow the base stars it is the main resurrection ship, without it the cylons can't ever download again "

Kara spoke a little harshly " Why haven't you already told us about the hub Boomer?"

Boomer shrugged " To be honest Starbuck I have only downloaded once and I honestly had forgotten about it "

Lee nodded " I believe you Boomer, but why hasn't Athena mentioned it ?"

Kara answered " She probably hadn't thought about it either, I think she is worried about the baby, but she can probably tell us more about it then Boomer can "

Boomer grinned " We don't need Athena, Caprica and her sisters know more about all of the ships than the rest of us do "

Lee stepped back to the hatch " When she contacts you ask her to find out where it is and we will plan a mission to take it out, Kara meet me later if you can "

Kara smirked " You don't give up do you Apollo?"

Lee grinned before stepping out of the office " Not when it comes to you and me "

Kara turned around and saw Boomer trying not to grin " I'm guessing I interrupted something important "

Kara ignored her " The fleet is going to need tylium soon, do you think Caprica can find us some place that has it and hopefully doesn't have cylons surrounding it?"

Boomer smirked " I will add it to the list "

Kara frowned " We are asking a lot from Caprica, but she wants to help and by the way aren't you still on duty?"

Boomer jerked " Frak I forgot and I already have all the people wondering why I am in CIC in the first place " she left jogging back to the CIC.

Kara laughed and closed the hatch.

[BREAK]**************************************************************************************************************

Eliza had rigged a raider to explode the second Leobon fired it up, she was now waiting close to the room Caprica and Leobon were in.

Natalie had found the drug she needed, but she didn't know how to get it into Leobon without him knowing, she took it and hoped she thought of something before meeting them.

Caprica had called the meeting with Leobon claiming she needed his help in finding Starbuck so she could pay her back for killing her.

Leobon got upset " If I help you find her you have to promise not to kill her, I don't care if you beat her up just don't kill her"

Caprica was stalling " Fine, but you are not allowed to leave this base star, so how can you help me find her?"

Before he could answer her they heard someone coming down the walkway.

Natalie finally figured out how to do it. She would use her anger against Leobon from the time he had attacked her and tried to rape her claiming he needed an outlet since he couldn't have Starbuck.

She had the needle ready and burst through the door yelling at him for what he had done and started hitting him with her fists with the needle held tightly in her right hand, after a few more punches she clawed him with her left hand and stuck the needle into his thigh at the same time with her right hand, hoping he would not feel the injection.

Natalie stepped back as he staggered and wobbled around the room and Caprica started the projection while whispering in a low voice out of his sight about where Starbuck could be found.

Leobon could see Kara as if he could reach out and touch her and knew somehow where to find her.

They watched as Leobon stumbled from the room and went to the raider Eliza had made sure he would choose by placing it closest to him when he entered the bay.

They all three stood together waiting to watch the explosion as they listened to Cavil putting a call throughout the base star for an emergency meeting. A meeting that would not happen as they saw Leobon fire the raider up. It was the last thing they saw.

When they woke up there was chaos everywhere. Cavil would never know what happened with the three of them having filters.

[BREAK]**************************************************************************************************************

Lee was in his dad's office relaying what Boomer had told them.

After he finished he moved on " Kara said you want to meet her dad "

Adama nodded " I do "

Lee smiled " Kara wants me to introduce the two of you, but it has to be private no one needs to know he is Kara's dad right now "

Again Adama nodded " I understand, what do you suggest as far as where to meet ?"

Lee frowned " I'm not sure, I would say Mark's office except we are trying to stay clear until Roslin names him vice-president, and the Aurora is out as well as your office " all of a sudden Lee smiled " I know Adam can pretend he is sick and the two of you can meet in Cottles office in life station "

Adama didn't know if he should be proud or alarmed about how sneaky Lee had become, but him and Kara had made everything work out so far and he had to admit he couldn't come up with anything better " Okay just let me know before hand so I'm not tied up in a meeting "

Lee knew it needed to happen tonight before the meetings tomorrow " I will call Adam now and have Racetrack pick him up and bring him to life station within the hour "

Adama knew his schedule was clear for the next two hours " I will be here, give me a call when he arrives "

The phone rang, so Adama got up to answer it " Adama "

It was Boomer " Sir I just received word from Caprica confirming the base star exploded and Cavil is boxing the twos as quickly as he can, but they haven't found the Leobon yet that is obessed with Kara "

Adama swore " Frak, what else happened?"

Boomer smiled even though Adama could not see her " The sixes and eights are making sure they are the majority on two of the base stars, so they can maintain control of them and are also offering to pick up the Simon's on Caprica since they are the closest base star "

Adama sighed " It would have been perfect if not for Leobon being loose "

Boomer frowned " Sir he has to be on one of the base stars they just have to find him "

Talking about the base stars reminded him of what Lee had told him " Boomer I need the location of the Hub as soon as possible "

" Yes sir " she answered

He hung up after thanking Boomer for the update and sat back down relaying what Boomer had told him to Lee.

That worried Lee " We need to put out an alert about Leobon just in case he finds a way into the fleet "

Adama looked at Lee " Son unless we land or he requests access to land on the Galactica there is no way he can get onto this ship "

Lee rolled his eyes at his dad for speaking to him like he was a child " I know that, but I would feel better if you issued the alert at least on the Galactica "

Adama grinned " Fine Lee I'll do it if it will make you feel better about Kara's safety "

Lee stood up " Commander it is not about what I feel for Kara, it is about the fact that she is the chosen one and we cannot afford to loose her to the cylons "

That sobered Adam up " You're right Lee, I just forget sometimes that Kara is special and not the Kara I have known for years "

Lee sighed " I know, I have to remind myself sometimes, I need to go call Adam and run Racetrack down "

Adama stood up " I'll see you later in life station, but in the meantime I am getting Anders and his group together and let them know about Leobon and tighten security up around Kara just in case "

Lee chuckled " Kara is not going to like that "

Adama smiled " You let me worry about that "

[BREAK]**************************************************************************************************************

Lee used the first call box he saw to call Adam and let him know Racetrack would be picking him up in the next thirty minutes.

Now he needed to find Racetrack since she wasn't on shift it meant she was probably with Mark so he headed to life station.

He could hear them talking so he slipped in the room " Hey Mark, you look better than the last time I saw you "

Mark looked at Lee " What's up, I can tell your not here just for a visit?"

Lee grinned " Actually I am, but I do need Racetrack to make a run for me "

Racetrack stayed sitting by Mark on the bed but looked at Lee " What do you need Apollo?"

Lee sat in the chair by the bed " My dad wants to meet Kara's dad and life station was the only safe place for them to meet without anyone knowing, so I need you to pick Adam up and bring him here under the guise of him being sick "

Mark grinned " That's perfect I wanted to see Adam myself, but I didn't want to expose him by asking him to come here "

Racetrack leaned over and kissed Mark on his cheek " I'll be right back and since I'm off we can have dinner together "

Mark laughed " Only if you promise to bring something from the mess because the food sucks in here "

Racetrack nodded as she left.

Mark turned to look at Lee " You are not worried about them meeting are you?"

Lee shrugged " I don't know, my dad thinks of Kara as his daughter and no matter the reasons he is not going to like the fact that Adam left Kara only to be abused by her mom "

Mark frowned " Lee you know he had no choice but to leave her and you need to remind your dad about that before Adam gets here "

Lee nodded " I will try to make him understand "

Mark relaxed " Maybe Kara can come sit with me while they talk, she needs to get used to seeing her dad "

Lee stood up to leave " I agree, I'll see what I can do "

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

Lee headed to his office hoping Kara was still there.

When he entered she was back working on the rosters " Your dad will be here soon and I set it up where they could meet in Cottle's office, so no one would know "

Kara was suddenly nervous now that it was about to happen " Do you think it will go okay?"

Lee walked behind the desk and placed his hands on her shoulders lightly massaging them as he answered " Yes, as long as my dad doesn't say anything to your dad about leaving you with your mother, you know he loves you like you are his daughter "

Kara looked up to meet his eyes " You need to stay with them Lee, I want them to like each other "

Lee grinned " I know you do and you are going to have to accept what your dad did, so the two of you can have a father and daughter relationship "

Kara whispered " I know and I will soon "

Lee leaned down and kissed her forehead " I am going to the hangar to escort Adam to life station and Mark wants you to sit with him while they meet, so you can see you dad after their meeting "

[BREAK]***************************************************************************************************************

Cavil was furious he didn't understand how the base star blew up and he had lost control of Leobon, after searching for a while he made another decision, if he couldn't find Leobon then he was going after the fleet to capture or kill Kara Thrace.

Cavil contacted Caprica " We need to leave Caprica, I want you to pick up most of the cylons left on the surface leaving only a few to finish things up and meet me later "

Caprica had a bad feeling " Why, where are you going?"

Cavil spoke harshly " Since I can't find Leobon I am going after the fleet and more importantly Kara Thrace "

Natalie jumped into the conservation " Cavil Leobon has to be on one of the base stars we just need time to find him "

Cavil laughed " He is not here, I bet the first thing he did after down loading was to steal a raider so he could go after that woman and as soon as I find him his whole line will be boxed I am sick of dealing with him "

Caprica knew that with Cavil leaving it would give her time to talk to the main Simon, she would warn Boomer about Cavil, but she couldn't pass up the opportunity of getting Simon to side with them. " I will take care of the cylons on Caprica Cavil, but let me know where to meet you as soon as you find the fleet or before if you don't "

Cavil spoke once more " Deanna and Doral are going with me so you are in charge until we meet up "

Caprica and Natalie both sighed as soon as Cavil ended the call.

Caprica quickly contacted Boomer to let her know what was going on, then she and Natalie along with Eliza made sure to pick up almost all of the Simon's saying Cavil ordered it.

Eliza had downloaded enough information to the other eights so they would follow her lead.

Then she left to meet with Caprica, Natalie and Simon.

[BREAK}**************************************************************************************************************

Adama had finished briefing Sam and the two men with him that knew most of what was going on.

Adama added one last thing before he left them " It would be wise if Kara didn't find out you were watching her, otherwise I can't promise you she won't attack you "

Sam laughed " We learned that about her on Caprica, don't worry commander we will handle it and her if we have to "

Adama chuckled " I wish you good luck then " then he walked out of the room the three men have been staying in.

Adama headed to life station to check on Mark while he waited to met Kara's dad.

At the same time Lee was greeting Adam in the hangar bay an announcement came over the ship comm from Colonel Tigh " Commander Adama and Captain Adama please report to the CIC we have a situation "

Lee looked at Racetrack " Take Adam to see Mark while I find out what is happening "

Adama turned around and headed to the CIC, he could tell by the way Tigh sounded that it was important.

Kara heard the announcement and wondered what was happening and since she hadn't been told to go to the CIC she would have to wait on Lee or Boomer to tell her. Kara laughed at how much control Boomer had ended up with it was ironic to say the least.

[BREAK]**************************************************************************************************************

A.N.-I want to thank Kessi38 for coming up with the name Willow for Kara and Aurora's six.

A.N.-I also want to thank Spacegirl for the name Eliza and for it's meaning, I think it fits this new eight perfectly.

* * *

( Leave a comment )


	40. Chapter 40

A Different Beginning-Chapter 40

KARA AND LEE MEET FOR THE FIRST TIME WHEN THE CYLONS DESTROY THEIR WORLDS.

THE KARA AND LEE IN THIS STORY WILL BE DIFFERENT BECAUSE THERE WILL BE NO PAST TO WEIGH THEM DOWN.

A.N.-AS ALWAYS ALL MISTAKES ARE MINE

CHAPTER-40

[BREAK]*****************************************************************************************************************

Adama and Lee arrived in the CIC at the same time, but from different directions.

Colonel Tigh saw them " Gaeta you are in charge of the CIC until the commander or I get back "

Tigh turned to Adama " We are needed in situation room one "

They headed that way knowing Boomer had information.

Boomer had stood while waiting on them and she came to attention as her superior officers entered " Sirs I have important information "

Adama spoke " Let's all sit down while you fill us in Boomer "

Boomer nodded than sat down " As you know Caprica blew the base star up and she and the eights have secured two base stars and are picking up as many Simon's as they can " she paused " Cavil told Caprica to get most of the cylons off of Caprica before meeting up with him, but she said Cavil was angry about not finding Leobon so he has decided to come after the fleet to try to capture Starbuck to use against Leobon "

" Frak " Lee swore in frustration " How do they know where we will be?"

Boomer knew Apollo was hoping she knew " Other than the cylon scouts finding us I think we have to assume they have a mole in the fleet like we do in theirs "

Adama was as frustrated as Lee " We will have to stay on alert status and jump away if Cavil shows up, buying Caprica time to talk to Simon and meet back up with Cavil "

Tigh sighed " Commander I really wish you would tell me what's going on if I am going to be of any help to you and the fleet "

Adama sighed " I know you may not believe me Saul, so I'm just going to be frank with you and hope you trust my judgement "

Tigh sat up straight " Even if I don't believe you Bill you know I will always follow your lead "

Adama nodded " First off Saul you have to keep this to yourself, you especially can't tell Roslin or your wife " Adama waited until Saul nodded before continuing " Roslin believes that Pythia will lead us to Earth, but we know that Aurora's chosen one is here among the fleet to lead us to Earth or some other habitable planet "

Colonel Tigh looked at the people in the room " Do all of you really believe that the chosen one is here ?" Tigh paused " Last time I checked Bill neither you or your son believed in the gods and Boomer aren't you supposed to believe in one god ? "

Boomer answered first " The cylons do believe in the one god Colonel, well most of them do anyway and until I died then woke up on a base star I believed in the gods " Boomer paused " While we were on Caprica we discovered who Aurora had chosen, she showed herself to Athena and me and asked us to protect the chosen one and we would earn our passage to whatever planet the chosen one found "

Colonel Tigh was shocked trying to understand it all, he looked at Adama when he spoke " Your right about Lee and I not believing, but things have changed, I'm still not sure how much I believe in the gods, but I have no doubt about believing in the chosen one "

Tigh looked at Lee and he knew of only one person that Adama and Lee would believe in above all else " The chosen one is Starbuck, isn't it?"

Adama chuckled relieved that Tigh had figured it out on his own " Yes she is and very few people know about it, Kara has also made allies with some of the cylons which is why Boomer has been given access to the CIC "

Tigh nodded looking at Boomer " So I'm guessing you are in contact with someone on the base star which has allowed us to know what they are up to, right?"

Lee finally spoke up " Yes Kara has a mole called Caprica who relays information through Boomer and it allows us to make certain decisions about things "

Tigh nodded again " Anything else I should know?"

Adama stood up " Kara has believed her dad was dead since she was about eight years old, but we found out he is alive here in the fleet and I am heading to life station to meet him now and you absolutely cannot tell anyone about him "

Tigh was curious " Why would he let her believe that for all these years?"

Lee answered, so he could also remind his dad about the reason he left her " He had no choice but to leave her to protect her, somehow the religious sects found out Aurora's Chosen One was living in or around Caprica and they started searching for the one Aurora had chosen "

Adama spoke once more before leaving " I will try to explain more about it later, but for now if Boomer tells you to do something and I'm not around just follow her lead " Adama looked at Boomer " Keep me up to date on Caprica's progress and Cavil's and we need to make sure the cylons don't capture Starbuck that is our first priority "

Lee stood up and looked at his dad " We need to go so Adam can get back to Cloud Nine "

Adama nodded and walked out behind Lee.

Colonel Tigh got up next " I guess we had better get back to the CIC " Tigh paused " Now that I know just let me know if you need to leave the CIC or if you need anything else I can help you with "

Boomer smiled " You knowing about it, is going to make things easier for me in the CIC "

[BREAK]**************************************************************************************************************

Racetrack and Adam had sat and talked with Mark about different things while they waited on Lee to show up.

Mark looked at Adam " How is Kara supposed to find a way to earth or any planet? "

Adam frowned " The oracle said there would be signs that only Kara would recognize, but I am certain that Aurora won't allow her to see them until the issues with the cylons are taken care of "

Mark nodded " Makes sense, we don't need to go there with the cylons still trying to kill us, that would just defeat the purpose "

Racetrack looked at Adam " Where and when is the priestess Eloshi supposed to have her meeting?"

Adam glanced at Mark " I offered her the use of the restaurant, but she said with Roslin close to announcing Mark as her vice-president she thought it best not to use it "

Mark asked " So what did she decide on using?"

Adam smiled slightly " The ballroom where the colonial day dance was used "

Racetrack replied " That's the where, so when is she holding it?"

Adam frowned " Eloshi would like to do it soon except she thinks it would be wise to wait until Roslin formally announces Mark as her VP "

Mark really didn't want to do this, but he knew Kara would need all the help she could get " Roslin said she would let me know tomorrow or later today and if she does decide she wants me I will try to get her to do it as quickly as possible "

Racetrack shook her head " I don't understand why she wouldn't at least accept the possibility of Aurora since she believes in Pythia "

Adam sighed " I think it has more to do with her thinking she is the dying leader that Pythia wrote about and she is not willing to back off like Aurora suggested "

Mark noticed Adam seemed quieter than usual " Have you seen Kara lately?"

Adam shook his head " No not really, I was hoping to have a chance to talk with her while I am here "

Mark grinned " I told Lee to let her know you would be with me after meeting the commander if she wanted to see you, I think she will show up "

Adam got up when Cottle came in " Adam, Lee and the commander are on their way and I need to take you to my office before they arrive "

[BREAK]************************************************************************************

Natalie had come over from the base star she was in control of for the meeting with the main Simon model.

Caprica had answered most of Simon's questions about what Cavil was up to and about him boxing the twos.

When Natalie walked in Simon became suspicious " Why are you here Natalie?"

Natalie waited until she reached them " We will tell you after Eliza gets here "

Simon was confused " Who is Eliza?"

Caprica answered " She is an eight model that has decided to join us, so we now call her Eliza "

Simon started pacing " What is going on here Natalie, something tells me Cavil doesn't know about this?"

Eliza walked in and heard the question " You're right he doesn't and you have a decision to make "

Simon looked at all three of them " What decision is that?"

Caprica answered him " As you know there are seven models, well six now that Cavil has boxed all the two's except for the one who wants Kara Thrace "

Natalie picked it up from there " We have reason to believe Cavil has lied to us, there is no cylon god and we think he is trying to set himself up as our god "

Simon's face showed shock " You are lying, Cavil would never do that "

Eliza spoke up " That is what I believed also until I was proven otherwise "

Caprica brought the main topic up " The sixes and eights are going against Cavil and anyone that sides with him but, someone told us to trust you would do the right thing "

That had Simon interested " Who told you this?"

Caprica chuckled " Aurora's chosen one and we have vowed to Aurora to protect the chosen one "

Simon laughed " You three all of a sudden believe in the colonials gods?"

Caprica crossed her arms " Yes, I spoke to Aurora myself and she said whoever tried to harm the one she chose would die permanently "

Natalie spoke up loudly " We are running out of time and you need to decide now and if you join us you will be allowed to live on the planet the chosen one chooses, but only without resurrection "

Simon didn't know what to believe " If I side with you we will have to go to war against Cavil, Doral and Deanna, but if I side with Cavil it will mean the sixes and eights will be out numbered "

Caprica nodded " It doesn't really matter what you do we are still going to kill you, or you could choose to live by siding with us and the fleet is going to help us "

Simon thought about it " Okay I'm with you, but Cavil will fight dirty, I just hope the fleet didn't lie to you "

Natalie smiled " Don't worry they didn't and we are ready to deal Cavil a heavy blow, just make sure your brothers are kept safe and in line "

Eliza groaned " Can we get started now before Cavil finds the fleet?"

Caprica nodded " Yes, but first I want to divide our three models evenly on the two base stars, Simon you will go with Natalie and Eliza I want you here with me " Caprica paused " We leave for Kobol as soon as we are all split up between the base stars "

As soon as Simon left Caprica contacted Boomer " Simon is with us, we will go after Cavil and I am sending you the coordinates for the Hub, all I ask is you wait for me to tell you it is safe to blow it up "

Boomer agreed " Caprica the fleet needs tylium if we are going after the HUB are there any that isn't heavily guarded?"

Caprica provided those coordinates also.

[BREAK]************************************************************************************

Leobon was beyond pissed he knew he had been set up and Cavil would box him without question.

As soon as he resurrected he took a heavy raider hoping to find Kara and take him away with him.

He had already jumped to Kobol only to find the fleet had left.

After jumping several times he knew he would need to find a tylium planet soon and prayed no one was there.

After scouting several places he knew they were guarded to well, for now he would have to return to Kobol until he could figure out where to try next.

Leobon could turn himself and Kara over to Cavil hoping it would get him back in Cavil's good graces.

Leobon knew he would have to connect to find a safe place to get tylium, he just hoped he got away before they found him.

Leobon left as soon as he had the coordinates.

[BREAK]*************************************************************************************

Boomer knew the commander was busy, so she told Colonel Tigh what Caprica had said.

Tigh knew he needed to make a decision " Have the chief prep a raptor for Racetrack and have her check it out before I tell the commander "

Boomer nodded and left to tell Racetrack in person, the less people knew the better it would be.

If they got lucky she knew they would be jumping there soon.

[BREAK]*************************************************************************************

A.N.-Just a short chapter to let you know I haven't given up on this story.

* * *

( Leave a comment )


	41. Chapter 41

A Different Beginning-Chapter 41

Kara and Lee meet for the first time on the Galactica the day the cylons attack.

This is mostly an A.U. story with bits of canon thrown in, but not very much, I still hope you will enjoy reading it though.

Chapter-41

[Break]**************************************************************************************

Adama and Lee were headed to life station to meet Adam, Kara's dad. Lee was nervous, he hated to admit it even to himself, but he found it easier to talk to Adam then his own dad.

Adama was finally glad he was going to meet Kara's dad, but he found himself a little jealous knowing he would not be the only father figure in her life anymore.

Adama chuckled to himself knowing it was petty of him to be having these thoughts, especially with everything that was happening in the fleet right now.

Lee and his dad were almost at Cottle's office and Lee hoped it all went well for Kara's sake. He knew she was probably worried to death right now.

When they entered Adam was already there talking with Cottle, who stood up as they entered " It was good to meet you Adam, I'll go now and let you three talk "

Adama spoke up " Thanks for letting us use your office Major "

Cottle passed by them squeezing Lee on the shoulder " Not a problem and it's good to see you Apollo "

Lee acknowledged him " Thanks Doc "

After Cottle closed the door Lee spoke up " Adam this is my dad Commander Adama and dad this is Adam, Kara's dad "

Adama wanted to be angry with Adam for leaving Kara as a child, but he had to admit his reasons were more valid than his own because he chose his career over being with his sons.

Adam stood up to shake his hand " It's good to finally meet you commander, you have a fine son "

Adama spoke also " You too Adam and you have a great daughter who I have come to love as if she were my own, she means a lot to me and Lee "

They all sat down with Adam adding " I want to thank you for taking care of her when I could not and I know how much she loves and respects you "

Adama chuckled " Kara has made it a point of taking care of me and Lee herself, sometimes I don't know how we would have managed without her "

Lee thought everything was going okay, but he felt he needed to change the subject somewhat before they tried to one up each other over Kara. " Adam, Kara is sitting with Mark if you would like to see her before you leave "

Adam smiled at Lee, he knew what he was doing " I will, but first I want to make sure that Kara's connection with Aurora doesn't become common knowledge "

Adama frowned " I can assure you that I have taken every precaution in regards to that Adam "

Great Lee thought, now afraid his dad would get upset that Adam didn't think he knew how to protect Kara. Time for another change of topic " I think Roslin will be naming Mark her vice-president later today and Eloshi will be calling the religious sects together tomorrow to announce that Aurora's chosen one is in the fleet and we should follow who Aurora has chosen "

Adam nodded " That's good, but Aurora will not show Kara the signs to a new planet until the cylons are dealt with "

Adama spoke up " That is happening now and while they fight it out we will be looking for tylium so we can take out the cylon Hub, stopping resurrection forever "

Adam nodded slightly " Kara's safety is imperative as you know and I don't think she should fly unless there is no other choice "

Adama chuckled " I agree, so when you see her you can tell her that "

Lee laughed also " He's right Adam it is going to be difficult to keep Starbuck out of the air and if you don't care I want to be there when you tell her "

Adama stood up " It was nice to meet you Adam and I hope to see you again soon, but right now I have to get back to the CIC "

Adam got up also " You to commander and I need to visit Mark and hope Kara will stay and talk with me for a while "

Lee rose last " I'll see you soon dad I am going with Adam "

Adama glanced at Lee " I will leave first, I think you two should wait a few minutes before leaving here "

Lee sat back down " You're right, we have no idea who is out there "

Adama nodded once at Adam before stepping out.

Adam sat back down also " I think that went alright, don't you Lee?"

Lee shrugged " I guess, dad is very protective of Kara, he knew her a while before I ever met her " he chuckled "Sometimes I think he loves her more than me "

Adam shook his head " He loves you Lee, I just think fathers tend to want to protect their daughters more, even when they don't think they need protecting, especially if that person is Kara "

Lee snorted " Somehow I don't think many women are like Kara " he glanced at his watch " I think it is safe to leave now "

[BREAK]************************************************************************************

As soon as Adama entered the CIC he knew something had happened or Racetrack wouldn't be there. " Someone tell me what is going on "

Boomer spoke up " Sir, I believe we need to take this somewhere private and we need Racetrack to go with us "

Adama nodded " Gaeta you have command, the rest of you follow me "

Gaeta wished he knew what was going on, but after what Dee had done the commander kept a small consul that included a cylon of all things.

After they sat down in the situation room which was becoming very familiar Adama asked again " Okay, now fill me in "

Tigh spoke up " I think Boomer should tell you she can explain it better than I can "

Adama nodded.

Boomer started out " First I don't know if you are aware, but Racetrack knows everything we do " Adama nodded once more, so Boomer continued " Caprica contacted me and said they had the Simon's on their side splitting the cylons down the middle " she paused to take a breath " Caprica and Natalie have control of two base stars and are going after Cavil, she also gave me coordinates to the Hub, but asked us to hold off until she was sure they had succeeded " again she paused a beat " She also gave me the location of a tylium planet the cylons know about and Racetrack ran a recon on Colonel Tighs orders "

It took Adama a minute to process all the information " What did you find Racetrack?"

She cleared her throat " It is definitely a tylium planet and has about ten heavy raiders patrolling it "

Boomer added " Sir, I think with the right plan we can take them out quickly, but we need to go now "

Adama agreed, but he needed to let Lee and Kara in on this and to do that he would have to call her away from Adam sooner than he liked, but the military came first " Tigh could you call put out a ship wide call for Captains Adama and Thrace to meet us here asap?"

Tigh nodded and got up and used the call box in the room " Captain Thrace and Captain Adama please report to situation room one asap "

[BREAK]************************************************************************************

Kara had been visiting with Mark while Lee introduced her dad to Adama and she was nervous about them meeting. She needed them to like each other, so she wouldn't have to worry about hurting either of them especially the old man. He had always been there for her ever since she first met him, in a strange way he seemed more like a father to her than her own.

Mark could tell Kara was anxious by the way she kept turning to look at the curtain to his room whenever someone came near. " Kara you are worrying about nothing, I know Adam and he will not say or do anything wrong, he knows how much this means to you "

Kara smiled at him " Am I that obvious?"

Mark chuckled " Yes you are, now relax and tell me what I need to do or say to Roslin if she offers me the job "

Kara nodded " Listen to what her plans are as often as you can and always act like you agree with her, that way it will be easier for her not to suspect you "

Just as she finished she heard a noise and looked back to see Lee and Adam entering Mark's room. " Hey "

Lee walked over to where she was sitting on the side of the bed facing Mark as they talked and after giving her a quick kiss shook Mark's hand " How are you feeling today Mark?"

Mark crossed his eyes at Lee " Better, ready to get out of her and back in my own bed "

Adam finally walked up and put a hand on Kara's shoulder " Kara it is good to see you and Mark the restaurant is doing fine, so don't worry about it "

Mark knew no one would bring up the elephant in the room, so he did " How did the meeting go with Adam and the commander Lee?"

Kara rolled her eyes at Mark.

Lee smiled " I think it went well as for as first meetings go "

Adam finally walked forward and turned to face Kara " Do you think we could talk for a while?"

Kara was about to say ' yes ' when the call came over the speakers. " Later, but for right now duty calls, we had better go Lee something major must be happening, sorry dad "

Lee shook Adam's hand as he was leaving " I will try to free her up some time later " and he followed Kara out.

Mark laughed " I guess it is just me and you, Maggie seems to have disappeared also "

Adam sat down and after talking for a while President Roslin walked in.

Adam stood as she walked in knowing who she was from having seen her before " Hello Madame President I am Adam a friend of Mark's and co-owner of the restaurant on Cloud Nine "

Roslin extended her hand " It is nice to finally meet you, I actually need to speak with Mark alone, if that's alright?"

Adam nodded " Sure, I need to get back anyway, I'll see you when they release you tomorrow Mark "

Mark glanced at him " I can't wait to get out of here and eat something good, bye Adam "

After Adam left Roslin took his seat " I met with the quorum and they have agreed, but would like to meet with you as soon as possible "

Mark looked at her a little worried " Why so soon?"

Roslin snorted " We are hoping to get a jump on Eloshi before she tries to change everyone's mind "

That was what Kara had been worried about and it was going to happen sooner than she thought, he needed to get word to her, but how?

Roslin cleared her throat " I hope you are still planning on being my vice president "

Mark would figure out how to get word to Kara later " I am, I will be released tomorrow around noon, so I can meet the quorum anytime after that "

Roslin smiled and patted his hand " I was hoping you would say that, so I will set the meeting for one o'clock tomorrow on Colonial One so you can stop by on your way back to Cloud Nine "

Mark needed to know just how fast she was planning on making this happen " When will I be sworn in?"

Roslin smirked " Tomorrow before Eloshi can hold her meeting, we are both going to attend it "

Mark nodded hoping he would be able to help Kara like she thought " I need to rest now, but I will see you at one o'clock tomorrow Madame President "

Roslin stood up to leave " I am counting on you Mark, don't let me down " she said right before leaving.

[BREAK]**********************************************************************************

As Kara and Lee headed to the meeting Kara asked " Do you think they liked each other?"

Lee grabbed her hand and gave it a quick squeeze " I think so, but I am pretty sure they respected each other and that is a step in the right direction "

Kara nodded " I can't help but wonder what is happening now, it seems like every time we turn around something has changed or is different "

Lee stopped her by grabbing her hand to stop her and after making sure they were alone he said " Adam said that as long as the cylons are still threats that Aurora won't show you the signs to our new home "

Kara shrugged " I kinda figured that out myself already and she is wise not to "

After that they continued on in silence until they reached the situation room entering together to find the commander, Tigh, Boomer and Racetrack waiting on them.

After they sat down Kara asked " So, what's going on now?"

Everyone looked at Boomer to explain it to the two of them, which she did.

Kara snorted " I knew Simon would give in "

Lee spoke up " Are we just supposed to sit here while they fight it out and hope Caprica can beat Cavil?"

Boomer sighed " Apollo we can't risk getting involved, plus our mission should be the tylium "

Adam spoke up " Boomer is right we need to move on the tylium planet now and Starbuck and Apollo I need you two and Boomer to come up with a plan to take out the heavy raiders "

Boomer interjected " Sir, I think Athena should help them, I need to stay in the CIC in order to assist Caprica and Natalie if I have to "

Adama nodded " You're right, Apollo the three of you need to come up with a plan in the next two hours, so run Athena down and get started, you are both dismissed "

Lee and Kara both saluted before leaving.

Adama looked at Tigh " We can't leave the fleet, so let the fleet Captains know we will be jumping soon and give them the coordinates Racetrack has "

Adama waited until Colonel Tigh left then looked at Racetrack " Since you found the tylium I want you to lead six raptors and have them set up a patrol around the planet after the vipers take them out, you can go now and prep them, I also want an evac raptor with the vipers " Racetrack saluted " Yes sir "

With Racetrack gone that left Adama alone with Boomer " I need you to find out if Leobon has connected with any base stars since he down loaded, I have a feeling he will try to get to Starbuck " he paused " If we send a raptor to see if the Hub is where it is supposed to be will it know we are there?"

Boomer thought about if for a moment " Probably, but if we use one of the heavy raiders it should not suspect anything, the only problem will be choosing the right pilot to fly it "

Adama seemed to think about that " Could you stay in touch with Caprica if you flew the recon mission?"

Boomer nodded " Yes, as long as I am able to contact the Galactica if I have to "

Adama stood up " I will have Gaeta set something up in the raider and I want you to go as soon as he is finished, things are going to be happening fast and we need to be prepared "

Boomer saluted and walked out heading down to the raider to wait on Gaeta.

[BREAK]************************************************************************************

Kara and Lee knew Athena would be at her raptor training course, which she didn't need, but was required to complete it before joining the military and be able to fly.

Lee had no problem interrupting her class and pulling her out telling the instructor she was needed.

After Athena joined them they explained the plan to her as they headed to one of the planning rooms.

Later after Apollo and Starbuck finally agreed on the viper formation attack Athena spoke up " If I ride in the evac raptor I can shut the raiders down so they will not be able to report what is happening buying us time to load the tylium "

Starbuck chuckled " That would make it a whole lot easier, we need to get this plan to the Commander now, and since I can't fly yet I am going to ask the commander to let me join the ground units "

Lee spoke up " Kara are you sure that is wise, Leobon is still out there somewhere?"

Kara rolled her eyes " Look the vipers are taking out the raiders and I'm sure Leobon will be nowhere near the tylium planet and I am tired of sitting on my ass doing nothing, okay Captain?"

Athena chuckled " She makes a good point "

Lee shot her an angry look " Fine you can ask, but I don't think the commander will agree "

They headed back to situation room one and waited on the commander to join them.

Adama took a seat " What have you come up with?"

Lee started explaining " We need the Galactica to jump in long enough for us to launch a viper squadron then jump back out "

Athena spoke up changing the plan a bit " I need to jump ahead in the evac raptor right before the Galactica to shut the raiders transmissions down before the vipers launch "

Adama nodded " Sounds good, anything else?"

Starbuck spoke " Sir, I would like to join a ground unit team since I can't fly and before you say no I want to stress that I am tired of sitting on the sidelines and I will be perfectly safe "

Adama thought about it " Lee I assume you will be leading the vipers and Athena you will be blocking communications, so I think it will be safe enough for Starbuck to lead a ground unit, but at the first sign of trouble I want you off that planet, do you understand Starbuck?"

Kara couldn't keep the smile off her face " Yes sir and if it's alright I would like to pick my team "

Adama smiled " I thought you would, alright go get ready we are leaving in twenty minutes, dismissed "

Once they were outside Kara grinned at Lee " You see even your dad thinks I will be safe Apollo "

Athena chuckled " I will meet you guys on the hangar deck "

Kara grabbed Lee and backed him against the bulkhead and kissed him before pulling back " You watch you six out there Apollo and I will see you afterwards " she started walking away and turned back " Oh and Lee I love you "

Lee grinned " Love you too Kara "

[BREAK]************************************************************************************

Racetrack trotted to the life station to tell Mark bye " I am leading a mission and will be gone for a while, but I will come see you as soon as I return "

Mark looked at her " Is it safe?"

Maggie grinned " Yes, it is about as safe as a mission can be "

Mark nodded " I need to speak to Kara, where is she?"

Maggie sat on the corner of his bed " Starbuck is also a part of the mission and so is Apollo, I can tell her something if you want me too "

Mark smiled " Roslin came by and the quorum has accepted me, but they want to meet me before Eloshi's meeting tomorrow and I needed to ask Kara some things "

Maggie leaned over and kissed him " We should all be back later tonight I will tell her you need to see her " she stood up " I have to go we are leaving as soon as the Galactica jumps "

Mark called her name when she reached the curtain to leave " Maggie be safe "

Maggie winked st him and trotted to the hangar deck to find people scrambling everywhere.

[BREAK]*************************************************************************************

Adama was waiting in the CIC for Boomer to come back and report in, after several minutes the alarms started blaring, but Adama knew dradis was picking up the heavy raider, but asked for ident to be sure.

Boomer hailed them as soon as she jumped back " Galactica actual this is Boomer, everything checks out "

Adama sighed relieved " Come on home Boomer we will be jumping soon "

Apollo called in " All vipers are ready to go Galactica "

Racetrack reported in " Raptors are ready and on stand by "

Athena was piloting, but Helo checked in " We are ready to jump on your mark Galactica "

Adama looked around the CIC and after seeing Boomer he was ready " Athena you have a go, we will follow in three minutes "

They all waited as Athena launched and knew they would soon follow " Apollo to all vipers the second we jump we are launching ' Lee paused " Racetrack give us five minutes and then jump, so the Galactica can jump back to the fleet "

Lee cleared his throat " The two raptors carrying the ground units I want you back on patrol after dropping them off, let's get this done quick guys "

Adama spoke loud and clear " We are jumping in ten, nine eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two one jump"

The whole hangar deck compiled of vipers and raptors was ready to launch as soon as they felt the pull of the ftl jump.

Athena true to her word had shut the raiders communications down " We have about ten minutes before they reboot, so hurry "

The vipers were quickly taking out the raiders while Racetrack's team patrolled the area and soon they would be able to bring the tanker in.

Kara and her unit along with three others were on the ground in case there were centurions around.

What she didn't know was that Leobon had been hiding waiting for a chance at the tylium, but then he saw Kara and knew he had to get her now.

At the same time in the CIC Boomer checked to see if Leobon had been stupid enough to connect and to her horror he had, she walked as fast as she could to stand next to Adama " Sir, I checked on Leobon and he did connect looking for tylium and he is now down on the planet where Starbuck is "

Adama fist suddenly slammed down on the tactile table " Frak, get me Racetrack now "

Racetrack had no idea what the Galactica could want " Galactica, Racetrack here sir "

" Racetrack this is actual, I need eyes on Starbuck now, Leobon is down on the planet "

Apollo cut in " Why in the frak didn't we know he would be there?"

Adama tried to speak calmly " We just found out Captain, it seems he needed tylium himself, he probably doesn't even know she is down there "

Apollo cut back in " I am landing now Galactica and I won't return without her "

Adama spoke louder " Captain Adama you are ordered to return to the Galactica now "

Lee shouted " Are you frakking insane or did you forget how important she is and you know I am not talking personally either "

Adama shut his eyes, Lee was right they had to find Kara now " Bommer let Caprica know what is happening, Athena I need you to land and search for clues and all marines are ordered to help you "

Adama knew Lee had already landed and there was nothing he could do about it, but one cylon could not stop them from getting the tylium, so Adama ordered the tanker in to load up with tylium while they searched for Kara.

He had to stay with the fleet and get reports from his pilots and marines.

* * *

( Leave a comment )


	42. Chapter 42

A Different Beginning-Chapter 42

[*************************]

This story revolves around Kara and Lee, as I am a hard-core K/L fan I find it easier and more fun to write.

Kara and Lee meet for the first time on the day the cylons attacked their home worlds.

A.N.-I am not one for a lot of angst, I got enough of that during the series, but there will be a lot of tension and a lot of people disagreeing about how things should go. ( LOL )

This story is mostly A.U. with bits of canon popping of every now and then.

[-]

Chapter-42

[-]

Caprica was almost finished with picking up the twos and given instructions to the cylons that would be left on Caprica.

Caprica had decided to leave a few sixes, fours and eights on Caprica until Simon told her that one of his own was going to help get Kara Thrace pregnant.

Eliza who had listened spoke up " We can't leave that Simon on Caprica, especially if Leobon manages to capture Starbuck "

Natalie turned to Simon " You are the one they listen to, so I need you to get that Simon off of Caprica now! "

Simon hadn't been aware of one of his brothers helping Leobon " I had no idea Caprica, but if Eliza can take me down to Caprica I will bring him back "

Natalie knew time was running out " Go now and if we have to jump I will relay our coordinates to you "

Eliza nodded and followed Simon out.

Caprica suddenly heard Boomer " Leobon is on the tylium planet and so is Starbuck, we may need your help, do you think Leobon still has his tracker?"

Caprica sighed " No, he lost it during his download which is why Cavil can't find him "

Boomer frowned " Do you have any good news?"

Caprica nodded to herself " Cavil knows the fleet has left Kobol, so I'm pretty sure he is searching somewhere other than the tylium planet and as soon as Eliza gets back we will jump to the tylium planet "

Boomer wondered " How will that help "

Caprica laughed " If I know Leobon he will think we are Cavil and will return to the base star with Starbuck hoping Cavil will forgive him, so even if he does kidnap her he will bring her straight to us, none the wiser "

Boomer agreed " I hope it doesn't come to that, Apollo is on the planet searching for her now and if he finds Leobon he will kill him "

Caprica chuckled " That would solve the Leobon problem, because Cavil has boxed his entire line except for Leobon, and our orders are to box him as soon as we see him, so either way it's a win-win situation "

Boomer sighed voicing the other option " Or he could take her and jump away "

That sobered Caprica " For all our sakes I hope not " Caprica paused " Let the commander know we will be jumping to the tylium planet to help find Starbuck, after that we are going after Cavil "

Boomer thought once last time " I will, jump to our location as soon as possible "

Caprica turned to look at Natalie " We have a problem, Leobon is on the tylium planet and Starbuck is also leading a ground unit "

Natalie hands went to her face in shock " You need to go now Caprica, I will wait for Eliza to return before jumping to meet you "

Caprica nodded " Go, I will leave for there now and Natalie send a raider with one of the sixes to recon before you jump in above the planet and I will let Boomer know "

Natalie nodded as she left the room running to the raider that would take her back to her base star.

Caprica grabbed the first Simon she could briefing him on what was happening, knowing there was a chance a Simon might be helpful if things went bad.

[***BREAK*********************************************************************************]

Kara was on the ground with her unit which consisted of Mathis, Anders and his two men. Kara knew that even if he had told her she could choose her team Adama had practically done it without her advice.

Kara looked up and knew the colonials had control of the space above the tylium planet, but that didn't mean the centurions weren't around.

They had stopped to rest when Kara was contacted by Lee using a walkie " Kara we just found out Leobon is on the planet "

Kara jumped up from the log she had sat on " Why are we just finding this out?"

Lee climbed out of his viper " I am on the ground what is your location?"

Mathis and the others had stood also " We are about one mile west of the tylium factory, so far there has been no sign of the centurions "

Lee who sounded like he was running ordered " Mathis I want you and Anders to cover Captain Thrace as long as you can, I'm on my way "

Mathis, Anders and his men quickly formed a circle around her, which made her mad " I can take care of myself, because I am not losing anyone to Leobon, not even us if I can help it " They moved slightly away at the tone of her voice " We need to take cover until Lee or the evac raptors finds us "

[BREAK]

Lee had run towards Kara's location when a thought popped up causing him to stop " Galactica I need to speak to Boomer now "

Lee waited seconds which seemed like minutes to him before he heard Boomer responding " Boomer here Apollo, what is happening?"

Lee sighed " Nothing as far as I know, is there anyway for you to find Leobon's raider?"

Boomer thought she knew why " If you can get to his raider you can stop him from leaving, right?"

Lee exhaled " I know she has a patrol unit with her, but if Leobon can get her away from them he will leave, so can you help?"

Boomer hated she could not help him " I can't help, but Athena is on the ground, she might know how to find it, plus our mole will soon be jumping here to help us, I'm sorry I couldn't help Apollo "

Lee stood up after leaning against a tree trunk " That's okay Boomer, I will get in touch with Athena now, Apollo out"

Lee stood still trying to decide which way to go. First he needed to speak to Athena, so he called her on the walkie she had with her "Athena is there anyway to find Leobon's raider?"

Athena stopped her patrol and walked a few feet away before answering " No, the only way would be if Leobon had connected recently and I had something to plug into, which I don't I'm sorry Apollo "

Lee got excited " Athena we have Boomer and a raider on the Galactica and Leobon connected briefly several hours ago, could Boomer do it?"

Athena gasped " Yes, but why didn't Boomer think about that?"

Lee was rambling " She is new to this, I want your patrol to catch up with Kara's they were about a mile west of the tylium plant "

Lee smiled calling back to the Galactica asking to speak to Boomer and waited until she answered " What's up Apollo?"

Lee sat down at the base of a tree resting his legs " Athena said that since Leobon had connected earlier you could use the raider to plug-in, hoping to pinpoint where his raider is "

Boomer grinned " Athena's right Apollo, I'm sorry I am still fairly new to the way cylons do things, I will call you as soon as I know anything, Boomer out "

That still left Lee not knowing which way to go. If he used the assumption that Leobon knew where Kara was then it stood to reason his raider would be close by. Instead of heading straight to Kara he decided to head above her position in the hopes that Leobon would not want to be noticed.

[BREAK]

In the CIC Adama was pacing, unable to help anybody, so he concentrated on the tylium being filled into the Galactica.

Boomer had approached him and kept him up to date with Kara, Lee and the cylon base star that would be jumping in soon. Dradis picked up the one raider that had jumped in and back out, but he let it go knowing it was Caprica's scout.

Boomer had also explained the different things that could happen concerning Kara and he prayed that she was wrong when she suggested he could just jump away from the fleet and the cylons keeping Kara for himself. That was what worried Adama the most and it wasn't just because the fleet needed her, he knew Lee would be as devastated as he would be.

Adama was also pacing waiting on Boomer hoping she could find out where the raider was. Just as he turned to make another pass in the CIC Boomer walked in smiling " I found it, it is a system set up like ours to keep track of the vipers and raptors "

Before Adama could think he grabbed Boomer and hugged her briefly before stepping back " Sorry, contact Apollo and the rest of the ground teams and give them the coordinates, but don't contact Starbucks team, Leobon could already have her or be close by and overhear what you say to them "

Boomer did as he asked then relayed the information to Caprica telling her to hold back if they needed her. Caprica didn't need to show herself unless it became necessary.

Adama was issuing orders " Colonel Tigh as soon as the tylium ship is full I want you to send the Aurora down for a direct refill and then send in Colonial One after that, we might as well get as much tylium as we can "

Tigh issued the orders " If there is still time who should we send next?"

Adama thought about it and Mark popped up, the least he could do for Mark after all he had done was send him next. " Send Cloud Nine down and after that you choose "

Colonel Tigh nodded.

[BREAK]

Back on the tylium planet Lee headed for the raider and Athena led her unit to Starbuck's last location.

Starbuck was getting restless and needed some space " Mathis I need to hit the head, so to speak "

Mathis nodded standing up " Yeah me too, besides I can't let you go alone " she turned to Anders " You are in charge until we return "

Kara didn't care who was in charge she just wanted off this planet now, so after walking away down the path she turned to Mathis " That's close enough I don't need an audience "

Mathis backed off and found a tree close by hidden by tall grass and relieved herself quickly before getting back on the path to wait for Starbuck.

After twenty minutes Mathis went in search of Starbuck and couldn't find her anywhere, so she headed back to her team.

When she reached them Athena was there " Where is Starbuck, Sergeant Mathis?"

Mathis could only tell the truth " We separated to take care of our personal business and when I returned she was gone, I waited for a while then looked for her, she is gone "

Sam jumped into the conservation shouting " What the frak kind of marine are you, you were never supposed to leave her alone "

Athena jumped in " Knowing Starbuck she ordered Mathis to give her some privacy " Athena paused then looked at Anders " You tracked her on Caprica so you should be able to track her now " turning she looked at Mathis "Show us where you last saw Starbuck "

[BREAK]

Lee had finally managed to find the raider and after making sure it was clear he walked over to the raider, but couldn't open it.

Frak he thought he would have to call Athena " Athena, Apollo here I have found the raider, but can't open it, any ideas?"

Athena had silenced the teams and stopped " There is a panel underneath the raider on the pilots side " she paused " It is flush, so you won't be able to feel it standing out, just keep rubbing your hand around the area and it should open "

Athena waited until she heard Apollo almost shout " I found it, now what?"

Athena cleared her throat " Apollo, Starbuck is missing and I'm betting Leobon has her, you need to get inside and shut the raider up, it will be your only opportunity to get the jump on Leobon "

All anyone could hear was Apollo cursing over and over " Frak, Frak, I knew she should not have come down here"

Finally he calmed down " Athena how in the frak do I close this thing?"

Athena smiled slightly " There is a button above the door just push it " She waited until she heard the door close before asking " I need your exact coordinates Apollo "

After Apollo rattled them off he looked around for the best place to hide and get the jump on Leobon while he waited. He also made sure he turned the walkie down.

Kara was struggling the entire way trying to leave clues once again and thinking that she was getting tired of being kidnapped and worried about what Lee would do with her gone again, maybe forever this time.

Kara finally saw the raider ahead and doubled her efforts at trying to get loose, that only made Leobon mad enough to knock her out dragging her the rest of the way, then he probably tossed her into the raider.

Athena and the others reached them only in time to see Leobon toss an unconscious Starbuck into the raider, making her wonder what Lee would do now.

As soon as Leobon shut the raider Lee raised his gun intending on shooting Leobon, but Leobon was quicker and shot Lee instead who fell crumpled next to Kara on the floor.

They didn't have long to wait before they heard a gunshot and then watched the raider lift off.

Athena wasted no time calling the Galactica " Commander I need to speak to Boomer now! "

As soon as Boomer answered Athena began talking " Leobon has Starbuck and Apollo, I think Apollo has been shot, have Caprica jump in now and try to lure Leobon onto her base star, it is the only play we have left "

Athena cut transmission and called for the evac raptor to pick them up. She didn't want to face the commander or Helo.

Anders was thinking almost the same thing, they had failed to do their jobs and not only lost Starbuck but Apollo also. Anders hoped the tylium was worth it, but somehow he didn't think the commander would care very much about all the tylium they had been able to get.

The evac raptor was silent on the way back to Galactica, no one felt like talking. They didn't even jerk when the basestar jumped in above the planet.

Caprica made sure to stay hidden from the Galatica even though she knew that they would know it was her, she just had to convince Leobon it was safe for him to board the basestar.

[BREAK]

Kara woke up slowly and when she saw Lee beside her covered in blood she jumped up screaming at Leobon after reaching out to grab Lee's wrist feeling for a pulse, relieved when she felt one. " You know messing with me is one thing, but if he dies I promise you will get nothing from me, because I will kill myself if that happens and destiny can go frak itself "

Leobon knew she meant what she said, but before he could give it much thought a base star jumped in almost on top of them. Leobon was torn between jumping away or getting help for the man who lay dying on the floor of his raider.

[BREAK]

Adama had all parties involved now in a situation room trying to piece together what happened.

Anders and Racetrack watched him as he held himself together as they all told him everything.

Helo sat by Athena knowing she blamed herself, but it was actually Kara herself to blame by getting Adama to let her go on the mission. A fact which Helo knew Commander Adama felt guilty for.

Boomer who had been silent so far spoke up " Caprica has jumped in above Leobon and is trying to convince him to land, sir "

Adama spoke up " I think he needs a little push " everyone looked at him wondering what he planned to do now.

" Athena I want you to pilot our raider and pretend you were the eight with him on Caprica and convince him it is safe to land " he looked at Boomer " Let Caprica know to keep Natalie back for now, she has that eight with her now doesn't she?"

Boomer nodded " She does sir, do you think this will work "

Adama actually smiled a little " The gods help those who help themselves, so I would like to think if we do our part they will help out with the rest of the plan "

Boomer grinned " I will let her know now sir "

Adama looked at Helo " I need you as CAG now, so get to the deck and tell them everything will be fine "

Racetrack spoke up " Commander should I tell Mark and Adam what has happened?"

Adama shook his head " Let's just wait and see what Caprica and Athena can do first, with that said no one that wasn't involved in this mission needs to know, so keep it to yourselves for now "

Adama stood up " Everyone is dismissed except Boomer "

Boomer waited until they all left " Commander we need to jump away so Leobon won't feel threatened, even though we can't see Caprica's base star if Leobon lands he will see us on their scanners "

Adama knew she was right " What do you suggest Boomer?"

Boomer shrugged " As soon as Athena leaves we can jump and Caprica will let us know what is happening "

Adama nodded " You're right, I need to get to the CIC and you are coming with me "

They both stood to leave.

[BREAK]

A.N.-Sorry for the short chapter, but there will be another one soon.


	43. Chapter 43

A Different Beginning-Chapter 43-I HAVE POSTED TWICE THIS WEEK-I HOPE THAT"S OKAY.

Please keep in mind that my Kara and Lee are different because they met the day the cylons attacked their home worlds.

Since they don't have a past shared by grief they are both different and have nothing standing in between them except for a crazy Dee and an obsessed Leobon.

On the upside Kara needs Lee to fulfill her destiny for humanity to continue.

Chapter-43

[ ]

Racetrack caught up with Helo on the way to the hangar deck along with Athena " Helo, Mark needed to speak with Starbuck tonight about Roslin, what should I tell him?"

Helo stopped as did Athena " We can't tell anyone Racetrack, not even her dad "

Racetrack still stood needing an answer " What should I say?"

Athena answered her " Just tell him the commander has them on a special assignment tonight and then pray we get them back "

Racetrack nodded " I'll tell him, but he won't believe me " she walked away

When Helo went to move Athena grabbed his arm " Oh my gods, I forgot about Willow, what are we going to tell her Helo?"

Helo was worried to death about both of them himself " The same thing we told Racetrack to tell Mark, come on we have to get you into the raider "

They both walked in silence the rest of the way.

Helo figured he would start with the chief " Chief I am CAG until Apollo gets back and I need the raider ready for Athena, Commander Adama has a special assignment for her "

Chief Tyrol nodded and left to get it done. He knew not to ask anything, because he would not get an answer anyway.

[BREAK]

Caprica had tried to get Leobon to board, but he still hadn't, so she had Simon try.

Simon knew a lot hinged on getting Leobon to land " Leobon this is Simon you need to land before Cavil finds you, we can protect you "

All of a sudden another raider jumped in startling Leobon " Who is that?"

Athena answered " Leobon I am the eight that was with you when we had Starbuck and they won't let me land unless you do and what Simon said is true, Cavil is looking for both of us and I have run away from him since I heard what he planned to do "

Leobon thought a moment " I have two prisoners and I need to know one of them won't be hurt, I don't care about the other one "

The eight ( Athena ) gasped " You found Starbuck didn't you Leobon?"

Leobon laughed " Yes eight and it was fairly easy, so whoever is in charge I need to know Kara won't be hurt if I land "

Caprica answered " Leobon you have my word we won't lay a hand on her, but we can't stay here much longer or Cavil might find us and he has already boxed the other twos, you and the eight need to land now "

Leobon looked over at the raider beside him " What do you think eight?"

Athena had to convince him " It is our best shot at avoiding Cavil, so for now I think we need to land in case the fleet or Cavil jump in "

Leobon looked back at Kara holding the bleeding man and snorted " Fine I'll land, but I have a passenger who is dying and needs a doctor now or Kara will be uncontrollable "

Athena held back a gasp " Go ahead Leobon I will follow "

[BREAK]

Adama was pacing once again in the CIC hoping Boomer and Athena's plan worked.

Caprica was pacing across the base star waiting on Leobon to land. She already had Simon set up a room to tend to the other person with Starbuck when he landed.

Athena watched as Leobon landed then she landed after him. She was glad she wasn't in uniform yet or he would know he had been fooled.

Caprica was in the landing bay when Leobon arrived needing to see for herself that Starbuck was okay.

It was only when Athena walked up and whispered that the injured man was Apollo that Caprica started shouting orders " Get him to Simon in the exam room now! "

Kara tried to stay with him, but Leobon held her against him causing her to look up at him with fire in her eyes " If he dies all of your plans die with him "

Caprica knew she would never fulfill her destiny if Apollo died, so she needed to make sure that didn't happen. She had also been ignoring Boomer's questions.

Leobon started dragging Kara away with her fighting him every step of the way " Kara if you don't start behaving I will not let you see him again "

Kara stopped struggling and turned to look at Caprica who walked up and whispered while Leobon was speaking to Simon " Leobon will be gone soon, I promise Starbuck and Athena will stay with him the entire time, I will not enjoy this " Before Kara could think what she meant Caprica slapped her hard before stomping away.

Kara looked at the eight more closely and knew it was Athena " You make sure he lives eight "

Caprica knew time was short, so she shouted at him from across the room " Leobon lock your pet up, we have a very important meeting to attend now "

Caprica had Natalie join her as soon as Leobon landed, they needed to take care of him fast.

Leobon took Kara to a room that could be sealed shut " You behave and I might find you something to eat or I might not "

Kara sneered " Go frak yourself Leobon "

When Leobon entered the room Caprica, his Simon, Natalie and his eight Eliza was waiting for him " What is going on?"

Natalie answered just as she pointed her gun at him " You are being boxed Leobon, just like Cavil wanted" Without hesitation she shot him between the eyes and Eliza and Natalie went to box him as soon as he resurrected.

Simon turned to Caprica " I guess it is time to go to war, at least we are evenly matched "

Caprica nodded lost in thought " Stay here and monitor everything, I need to check on Starbuck and Apollo "

[-]

On the way Caprica updated Boomer also letting her know she hadn't seen Apollo yet, but the cylons were divided with three sets of models on each side.

Caprica made her way to Kara's holding area opening up the doors " Leobon has been taken care of, his entire line is boxed "

Kara jumped up " Finally, take me to Lee now! "

As they walked the base star Kara was trying to remember certain things if they had to make a run for it.

Kara looked over at Caprica " Do you think you can beat Cavil?"

Caprica waited to answer " Natalie has a plan to get us started, but we will still have to fight them, I just hope my plan works "

Kara nodded " As soon as I'm sure Lee will be okay I would like to look over your plan "

Caprica smiled " Boomer told us how you have pulled off some crazy plans in the past and truthfully we need all the help we can get "

They had reached the exam room and looked in from the door. Kara could tell that Lee was sedated and yet she couldn't stop looking at him.

Athena walked over " It was touch and go for a few minutes the bullet nicked a part of his lung and it collapsed, but Simon was able to fix it and sedated him so he would rest " Athena paused " He is going to be okay Starbuck, but we can't move him for several hours "

Kara looked at her puzzled " What about the blood I saw?"

Simon answered her " The bullet grazed his arm before entering his body and nicking his lung "

Kara nodded and looked back at Athena " I guess the old man sent you to help us, will you stay with him I am going to look over Caprica's plans ?" Kara walked away then stopped and turned " If he wakes up page me and tell him I am okay and will see him soon "

Athena sat back down " Go, I'm sure Caprica would like some advice on her plans "

Kara leaned down and touched his face gently before pressing a kiss on his lips " See you soon Lee "

[-]

When they made it into an empty room Kara saw papers lying scattered about on a table and walked towards it " I wouldn't have thought cylons needed to write any plans down "

Caprica shrugged " We haven't been able to agree on how to attack Cavil, so we tried this " Caprica caught a look from Natalie as she entered the room with Eliza " Starbuck this is Natalie and the eight who helped Leobon capture you, we call her Eliza "

Kara snorted " I guess you finally picked the right side, let's hope it is not a ruse, hello Natalie "

Eliza took offense " Look Starbuck, at first I didn't know everything and I wanted to be with Boomer and Athena again, so I have pledged my life to this cause "

Starbuck had crossed her arms " Natalia, Caprica said you had a plan to get this started, what is it?"

Natalie stepped up to the table " I have called a meeting with Cavil, Doral and Dianna on his base star, I will be taking my centurions with me who have been reprogrammed to take out any of the three models they see if Cavil won't back down and join us "

Caprica snorted this time " Natalie you know Cavil will never stop, so you had better be ready to kill cylons or they will kill you "

Kara grinned " I like it, but until we take out the hub they will resurrect again "

Natalie frowned " I know and once we start this we can't quit no matter what "

Kara nodded " So when do you plan on meeting with them?"

Caprica sighed " We wanted to begin right away, but we need to get you and Apollo off this base star before we began "

Kara snorted " Go ahead with your plans, somehow I feel like we are supposed to be here, or maybe it is me that is supposed to be here "

Natalie asked quietly " You think this is what Aurora wants?"

Kara grinned " Yes, otherwise I would not be here "

Caprica looked at Natalie " Go to your base star and call the meeting, take Eliza with you and we will be prepared to back you up "

They both nodded before walking out.

Kara walked closer to the table " What is your plan Caprica?"

Caprica weighed her answer " I asked Boomer to hold off on blowing up the HUB until we were sure we won " Caprica paused " After Natalie returns I want to target Cavil's base star first as fast as we can " she sighed " I am hoping it will help the other cylons see it our way, but if not we will destroy any base stars we come across "

Kara walked around the table and picked up a drawing of a planet labeled ' Creations ' she held it up to show her " What is this Caprica?"

Caprica sighed " It is a planet where we build or re-build base stars and raiders " Caprica chuckled " We lost a lot of base stars and raiders in this war "

Kara grinned " This should be our first target or at least the fleets "

Caprica nodded " We need to let the Galactica handle it at the same time we attack Cavil "

Kara placed the drawing back down " I want Athena to take Lee back to the Galactica as soon as possible and I will be staying here with you "

Caprica cocked her head to the side " Are you sure Starbuck and what about Willow?"

Kara nodded " I'm sure and Willow is doing great, she even has a job on Cloud Nine now and she seems happy "

Athena walked in " Apollo is awake and wants to talk to you now "

Kara looked at Natalie " Tell her what I want done while I'm gone "

After Kara walked off Athena looked at Caprica " What did she mean?"

Caprica sighed " She wants you to go back to the Galactica and take Lee with you, she is staying here "

Athena laughed " There is no way Apollo will leave her here "

Caprica shrugged " She is going to give him a drug to knock him out and then load him onto the raider, it is what she thinks Aurora wants "

[-]

Kara watched Lee through the window before going in " Hey " she walked over and sat on the corner of the bed.

Lee studied her a minute " What is happening Kara?"

Kara held up one hand " Natalie is on her way to meet Cavil and if he still disagrees she will have her centurions kill as many of the three models as she can." she paused " Leobon has been boxed and is gone forever "

Lee knew she was stalling " What else Kara? "

Kara moved up farther onto the bed " They have a planet where they fix and make new base stars and raiders, Caprica and I both agreed the Galactica should blow it up at the same time she attacks Cavil "

Lee put his hand up " Stop Kara, I know what you are going to say, but before you do all I ask is that you contact Willow and make sure this is what Aurora wants and if she wants me here as well "

Kara agreed, mostly because she was afraid of making a mistake about sending Lee away. If he was with her she could protect him. " Fine I will see if this base star has a way for me to contact Cloud Nine "

When she went to stand Lee pulled her back down closer to him so he could kiss her before letting her loose " Be careful what you say to her, anybody could hear you and that would be a problem "

Kara stood up " I am sending Athena back to the Galactica, she doesn't belong here anymore "

Lee sighed " Simon says I can't get up for twenty-four hours, so please come and visit often, it is kinda creepy being here "

Kara laughed out loud " Tell me about it, and Lee I love you "

Lee snorted " I love you too, even if my life is always in a state of chaos "

[-]

Kara went to find Caprica instead and she knew she would find her in the planning room " Lee thinks I need to ask Willow if one or both of us should be here, could you contact Boomer and have her find out as soon as you can?"

While Caprica was doing that Kara studied the planet named 'Creations ' trying to come up with a plan to give the commander so he could destroy it.

She then moved onto a picture which had to be the HUB and held it up " Is this the HUB Caprica?"

Caprica nodded as she was still waiting to hear back from Boomer " It will be the hardest to destroy it is always with at least two base stars"

Kara was excited because they were finally close and then they would only have to deal with Roslin after this was over.

Kara was going to ask another question when Caprica held her hand up listening until she disconnected with Boomer " Willow says you are both where you need to be, but Boomer said the commander was very upset "

Kara chuckled " I bet he is, I guess I will go tell Lee he was right after all " Kara walked a ways, then turned " Is it safe with your centurions walking about?"

Caprica nodded " They have been programmed to hurt no humans "

Kara chuckled " Good to know "

[BREAK]

When Kara finally made it back to Lee he was asleep, but Athena was sitting in a chair by his bed. She moved to stand up, but Kara waved her back down and sat on the edge of the bed " I need for you to tell the commander some things when you leave "

Athena nodded " So I assume you both will be staying "

Kara shrugged " Yeah, I guess Aurora thinks I need to help them since they helped me "

Athena could understand that " What do you want me to tell him?"

Kara pulled the picture she had tucked inside her shirt " This is a planet where they make and repair raiders and base stars, the commander needs to take it out at the same time we attack Cavil, Caprica will let Boomer know when "

Athena looked up " Starbuck you and Apollo usually plan the missions, who will do it now?"

Kara chuckled " I think you and Boomer along with the commander can come up with a plan "

Athena was worried and relieved at the same time. She hoped they both survived the fights with the base stars, but she also knew Aurora would look after Kara. " What should I tell Adam and Mark?"

Kara thought about it " The truth "

Athena had to let her know " The commander told us not to tell them anything "

Kara smirked " Tell them Athena, they deserve to know and I will take the fallout with the commander "

Athena stood up to go " What about the HUB, you know he is going to ask?"

Kara stood also " We can't destroy the Hub until we are sure of the outcome, otherwise we would be left with a lot of bad cylons, I think the commander is wise enough to understand that "

As Athena was walking away Kara yelled " Give Helo a hug for me "

Athena laughed happy to go home and get off this base star forever.

[BREAK]

Kara laid down beside Lee to rest for a while, she hadn't known she was that tired. Sometime later she fell asleep and dreamed of a planet she knew she had never been to before. It was green as far as the eye could see and had mountains in the distance.

She turned to look the other way when she heard a noise and saw children in a park flying kites, while others were kicking a ball around. She stayed perfectly still afraid of losing the dream.

She turned to her right and saw a young couple jogging on a path playing tag back and forth just like her and Lee do when they run.

Suddenly she felt chills run down her spine and heard a low whisper " This will be the fleets new home Kara as long as you follow the signs and trust those who stand beside you " And just like that it was gone and as she woke up she straight up in the bed waking Lee in the process.

Lee sat up " Are you okay Kara?"

Kara turned to him smiling with tears running down her face " I saw our new home Lee and it is beautiful and I am going to take us there "

The moment was broken when Caprica ran into the room " It has started, Natalie had everyone on Cavil's base star killed and they will be coming after us now "

Kara knew Caprica was scared, so she got up and walked over to her " I had a dream about our new home, I only wish I could project it for you then you would know we are going to win "

Caprica laughed " I can as long as you think about it and nothing else "

Kara asked " Can Lee see it to?"

Caprica nodded as they went and sat on the bed by him " Kara I will hold your hand and Lee you hold mine and Kara's " he did.

Kara sat very still and brought the memory back and she was once again standing in the park, she heard Lee and Caprica gasp. Kara wondered if she could talk " Can you see it, the children, the park and the families?"

Caprica answered " Yes Kara I see it " Lee spoke up " Are you sure this is where we are going?"

Kara nodded " Aurora said we would as long as I follow the signs and trust those who stand beside me "

Lee was in awe " This is worth fighting for "

Caprica whispered " We need to let go now we have a war to win before we can come here "

They all let go and looked at each other stunned as all three now had tears streaming down their face.

Lee sat up " Caprica I need to see your plans so we can build a strategy to use against them "

Kara smiled " Lee went to War College planning missions is second nature for him "

Lee grinned " And Starbuck thinks outside of the box and her plans always work "

Caprica got up " I'll be right back "

Lee and Kara took the time to slowly kiss each other excited about their future for the first time.

[BREAK}

A.N-I hope to have another chapter soon.

* * *

( Leave a comment )


	44. Chapter 44

Kara and Lee meet for the first time on the day the cylons attack their home worlds.

They are different people without having a past to affect them in this story at least.

* * *

A Different Beginning- Chapter- 44

[-]

Chapter-44

[-]

On the Galactica, Adama was feeling useless, unable to help Kara or Lee. He knew Boomer was in contact with Caprica, but so far she hadn't had time to update him.

She finally entered the CIC and asked " Can we speak in private, sir?"

Adama nodded " You have the CIC Colonel until I return "

Boomer and Adama were once again headed to the situation room.

After they both sat down, Adama asked " What is going on now Boomer?"

Boomer sighed " Caprica had been avoiding contacting me until she straightened a few things out "

Adama nodded " And now?"

Boomer sighed " Willow spoke with Aurora on Kara's behalf wanting to know if she and Apollo should stay with Caprica " Boomer paused " Aurora said they were right where they needed to be for now"

Boomer finished with what she knew about them. " Natalie has killed Cavil, Doral and Deanna along with a lot of their copies and Caprica knows they will be coming after her and Natalie as soon as they resurrect"

Adama leaned back rubbing his chin " So, I assume the cylon war will begin soon?"

Boomer shrugged " Yes it could actually start at any moment "

Adama heard a knock on the hatch and had Boomer check it out.

Boomer opened the door to find Athena standing there anxious " I have something to show the commander, Boomer"

Boomer looked back and Adama nodded, so she let Athena in.

Adama stood up " What do you have Athena?" he asked looking at what she was holding.

Athena stepped forward and laid the photo down " Starbuck said this is the planet they call ' Creations ' it is where they repair raiders and base stars and are building new base stars "

Adama picked it up and studied the photo " What else did Starbuck have to say?"

Athena glanced at Boomer " Starbuck said the Galactica needs to destroy it at the same time they attack Cavil and his other base stars and Caprica will let Boomer know when, so we can coordinate our attacks "

Adama laid the photo back down " Athena how are Lee and Kara doing?"

Again Athena glanced at Boomer who nodded " Kara is okay now that Leobon has been boxed, but the shot Apollo took nicked his arm before hitting a piece of his lung " Athena knew she had to finish before Adama erupted " Simon fixed his lung and Apollo is going to recover, he has to rest for the next twenty hours or so " Athena laughed slightly " Caprica said Starbuck and Apollo are already planning the mission against Cavil and Natalie is going by ' Creations ' to pick up another base star, Apollo said they would need "

Adama sighed with relief " Since Captains Thrace and Adama aren't available to plan this mission, I need you two along with Gaeta to come up with a plan to destroy this planet when Caprica is ready "

Athena looked at her commander hoping he would agree to what Starbuck wanted " Starbuck wants me to tell Adam and Mark what is happening with her and Lee "

As much as Adama wanted to deny Kara's request he knew he couldn't. Kara and Lee both trusted Adam and Mark, and Adama had to admit he did also since he had gotten to know them, especially Mark " You can tell them Athena and make sure you update Willow on everything "

Adama saw them still standing there waiting " You're dismissed and thank you both for all your help "

Adama leaned back in his chair thinking after they left, he wanted to promote Boomer for all she had done, but he knew Roslin and the rest of the civilians wouldn't like it. He decided if Mark became Vice-President he might do it anyway. As much as he wanted Kara and Lee back he knew that they needed to help Caprica beat Cavil.

[-]

Caprica returned to Apollo's room with her crude drawings containing their plans.

Kara helped Lee sit up and together her and Caprica managed to put a small table across his bed before laying out the plans. Then they both stood back as he looked over them.

Lee looked at Caprica " How many base stars are under your control?"

Caprica winced " Two, mine and Natalie's "

Starbuck voiced what she knew Lee was thinking " We need at least two more Caprica "

Caprica had a sudden thought " I am sure the ' Creations ' planet does not know what is happening since it is mostly under centurion guard " Caprica looked at Apollo after mentioning the ' Creations ' planet.

Starbuck snorted " Don't worry I have already told Lee about it "

Starbuck was more interested to know what she was thinking " How would that help us?"

Caprica smiled " Natalie can check the planet out, she is on her way back now and find out if one is ready and drop Eliza off to pick one up along with any raiders that are ready "

Lee looked down once more " If Eliza can get enough raiders we can work out a plan with three base stars " Lee paused and then looked at Caprica " Is there anything around I can write with?"

Caprica nodded " I'll go find a pen and I need to tell Natalie and Eliza about the change of plans "

[-]

Athena headed down to the sick bay to see Mark before she went to find Helo.

As soon as she walked in she saw Helo already sitting and talking with Mark.

Helo stood up and went to hug her " Did everything work out?"

Athena pulled out of Helo's arms after a moment and walked over to Mark before answering " Yes, Leobon has been boxed and Starbuck wanted you and Adam to know she and Apollo will be staying on the base star to help Caprica fight Cavil's group "

Helo got upset " Why in the worlds would Kara do that knowing the fleet needs her here?"

Mark looked like he wanted to ask the same thing.

Athena sat down " Aurora said Kara and Lee are needed on the base star for now "

Mark understood what Helo didn't " Probably because certain cylons have helped her and now Aurora thinks Kara should help them if we have any chance of getting rid of Cavil and the rest of his group "

Athena nodded " That is what I think also "

Helo had calmed down " When will they be back?"

Mark answered him " When Caprica wins the cylon war "

Athena turned to look up at Helo " I need to go to Cloud Nine to let Adam know and the commander wants me to update Willow, will you go with me?"

Helo knew she had already had a long day " Sure and then you are coming back here and getting some sleep "

Athena stood up to go when Mark stopped her " I heard Lee got shot, is he going to be okay?"

Athena smiled " Yes, it was touch and go for a while, but Simon said he would be okay as long as he rested for a while "

Helo sighed " Thank the Gods, I'll come by tomorrow Mark and give you a ride over to Colonial One " Helo chuckled thinking about it " I can't believe Apollo's crazy plan to make you vice-president is actually going to happen "

Mark grinned " I am shocked it worked out myself "

Athena grabbed Helo's hand " Let's go, I am ready for this day to end "

Mark got comfortable after they left and just before falling asleep he prayed to Aurora asking her to watch over all of them.

He was sleeping and had missed seeing Maggie when she stopped by after her CAP ended. Maggie quietly walked up to his bed and kissed him on the cheek before heading off to the bunk room to get some sleep herself.

[-]

Athena and Helo were sitting with Adam and Willow eating some soup after telling them about Starbuck and Apollo.

Adam insisted they stay and eat since the restaurant was closed. Athena nor Helo had remembered to eat since breakfast early this morning.

Athena was surprised neither Adam or Willow was upset about them staying on the base star, maybe they knew something she didn't.

Athena tried to answer all Willow's questions " That is all I know Willow, check with Boomer tomorrow she may know more "

Helo changed the subject " I am dropping Mark off tomorrow afternoon as soon as we leave Colonial One "

Adam spoke aloud what he had thought " After Caprica defeats Cavil and we get rid of any stragglers I believe Kara should start seeing signs as to which way we need to go "

Helo was still worried " What if Roslin still wants an inquiry about the chosen one, because I don't think she will let it go?"

Adama shook his head " I'm not sure what will happen if she insists on still doing that "

Athena yawned " Sorry, I think that is what Apollo suspected would happen which is why he worked hard on making sure Mark became vice-president "

Helo looked at her " What could Mark do to change things?"

Willow laughed " It's simple really, Commander Adama could have her brought up on charges long enough for Mark to take control of the situation "

Athena chuckled " You're right, I didn't think about that, but apparently Apollo and the commander did "

Helo stood up " We need to go, thanks for feeding us Adam "

Adam stood also " Your welcome and come by again sometime "

Before they could leave Willow stood up and hugged Helo then Athena " Goodnight guys and thanks for coming by and filling us in on things "

They nodded then walked away holding hands.

[-]

Back on the base star Caprica had found a pen for Apollo and had let Natalie and Eliza know that plans had changed.

Natalie was now on her way to the ' Creation ' planet to pick up another base star and extra raiders. It was funny that Cavil had not counted on the fact that someone like Leobon would try to steal a base star and even funnier that Leobon had not thought about it himself.

It turned out that it was the easiest thing they had done so far.

Caprica returned to Apollo's room to find him and Starbuck arguing over something to do with the plans. " I found a pen and Natalie is picking up another base star as we speak "

Kara was clearly frustrated " This is so much easier when we are making plans to destroy anything cylon, now we have to be careful so that we don't end up frakking ourselves by taking out the wrong cylons "

Lee was fairly certain he had come up with a plan, but Kara didn't agree with him. " Kara if you would just take a minute and look at my plan I am sure you can make adjustments to it "

Kara snorted " Lee I really think we need to wait and come up with a plan when Natalie and Caprica can help us "

Lee threw the papers back on the table " Fine we will wait, Caprica is there anything to eat on your ship?"

Kara added " Or drink, I really need some alcohol at this point "

Lee snorted " Only you would want a drink instead of food, Kara we haven't eaten since early this morning and you need food whether you want it or not "

Kara rolled her eyes at him " Fine Lee I'll eat something, but I still want a drink "

Caprica wondered if they were always like this, bickering one moment, then acting like they couldn't live without the other the next moment. " I will have some food brought to you both and Starbuck we will all have a drink when Natalie and Eliza arrive "

Kara nodded " I also want a cot brought in here, I am not sleeping anywhere except close to Lee "

Caprica grinned as did Lee " Sure I'll have a centurion bring you one soon, I am going to see about getting some food brought to you " Caprica paused in the doorway " Is there anything else you need?"

Kara smirked " I would also like a shower and a change of clothes, but not any of that fancy stuff you wear "

Lee laughed " Kara likes simple and comfortable clothes "

This time Caprica rolled her eyes " I think the eights will have something you would like, if you follow me I will show you where you can shower "

Lee pouted " What about me?"

Kara turned to look at him with a twinkle in her eyes " I'll give you a sponge bath when I get back" she walked over close to him and after kissing his cheek she said " You definitely need a sponge bath Apollo you kinda stink "

She followed Caprica out laughing until Lee threw his pillow and hit her behind, she stooped down and picked it up throwing it back at him.

Caprica could not help but wonder why Aurora would choose someone like Starbuck as her chosen one.

[-]

Kara had showered and an eight was standing there holding out a big white fluffy robe for her to put on " Come with me and we will find you something to wear "

At the moment Kara was content in the robe, it was the softest thing she had felt against her bare skin since before the war. She would ask Caprica if she take it with her when she left.

Kara followed the eight down several corridors before entering a room which held all the eights clothes. Kara couldn't help but feel angry that the cylons had so much more than the fleet did, but now was not the time to get in an argument over necessities.

Eight spoke breaking into Kara's thoughts " You can choose anything you like Starbuck, I'll wait outside to escort you back to Apollo it is easy to get lost on a base star "

Kara looked at several things, but settled on something practical. She chose a pair of black jeans, low black boots and a black sleeveless slip over shirt followed by a white short sleeve pullover shirt that was short enough to see the black top underneath the white shirt where it met the top of her jeans. Kara also found and unused black bra and panties set she just had to have so she could tease Lee later.

After getting dressed and brushing her hair she left it down instead of putting it in a ponytail. When she walked out the eight was standing there " That looks good on you Starbuck "

Kara smirked and followed the eight back to Lee.

[-]

Cavil was furious, he still hadn't located Leobon nor the Colonials. Added to that Natalie had her centurions kill him, Deanna and all the Doral copies on his own base star.

Cavil had went back to Caprica after finding the Colonials gone from Kobol. At least Caprica had done as he told her. She had picked up most of the cylons especially the Simon's, but left most of the Dorals and Deanna's for some reason.

Cavil had sent word for Doral to meet him on his base star and started asking him questions immediately " Why did Caprica leave you and the threes here?

Doral wasn't aware of anything being wrong except for Cavil being upset with Leobon and Natalie trying to kill them all " Natalie asked us to oversee the centurions as they cleaned up Caprica City and to keep a look out for any other humans that may be here "

Cavil couldn't argue with that, it made sense as they wanted to keep Caprica City as a base of operations, but it seemed Natalie was trying to start a rebellion and doubted Caprica even knew " Have you heard anything about Leobon?"

Doral shook his head " We were told to keep an eye out for him if he was here or came back here "

Deanna walked in " What is going on Cavil, why did you leave Caprica in charge?"

Cavil glowered at her " She seems to be the only one that is following orders " He paused to calm down " Deanna I want the same search patterns sent out for the colonials, three raiders each with ten teams of each they have to be somewhere " he paused and added " I want Natalie found and brought to me right away"

Deanna nodded " Have you found Leobon?"

Cavil turned to look at both shouting " No, now do your jobs "

As soon as they left Cavil searched once again for Leobons signal.

This time he picked up a very faint signal, but was to far away to get a fix on it.

Cavil ordered Deanna to take a base star and follow him hoping between the both of them they could find Leobon, and left Doral to continue supervising things on Caprica City.

[ ]

Lee was still working on plans when Kara sauntered in freshly dressed and looking more beautiful and lethal than he had ever seen her. She reminded him of an avenging angel in some ways " Wow, you look different "

Kara blushed looking down at her clothes " This stuff barely fits, the eights are small "

He grinned " Yeah, but it fits you tight in all the right places "

The eight chuckled from behind Kara " I have things to do, so I'll just go " she doubted they even heard her.

Kara walked over and sat on the bed leaning close to him on purpose " What are doing Apollo?"

Lee had to think a minute " Waiting on Caprica and Natalie to get here " Lee had a thought " How about that sponge bath now and I would like to be dressed before the meeting ?"

Kara stood up and chuckled.

Lee leered at her " What's so funny Starbuck?"

Kara grinned " I was just thinking that it would be easier if I had a centurion help me bathe you "

Lee sat up straight " No way Starbuck, forget it "

Kara spread her hands indicating she was letting it go and started looking around " Fine I'll do it, but I do have to get someone to find you some clothes "

Lee nodded " Okay, but not Leobon's "

Kara shivered " Agreed "

After Kara had sent an eight she found in the hallway for clothes she went back and found a wash cloth and a sink on the far edge of the room and another white robe.

She went back and helped Lee up propping him against the counter as she filled the sink with water. Kara had him lean over as best she could halfway washing his hair and then she shielded him from the door as he took off his gown.

Lee watched as Kara bit her lip while soaping the rag and watched as she wouldn't look at him as she washed him as much as she was going to. After that she reached behind him and pulled a robe around him that he had missed seeing before. " My gods this feels wonderful "

Kara looked at him then, grinning " I know, I am going to ask Caprica if I can keep mine "

Lee walked back to sit on the bed " Me too " just as an eight walked in carrying clothes.

The eight looked at Lee " This is all I could find that you might like " she held out a pair of khaki pants and a white dress shirt handing them to him before leaving.

Kara had just finished helping Lee get the shirt on when Caprica and Natalie walked in followed by Eliza.

[ ]

Kara watched as a centurion brought in a table large enough for them all to sit at, it seems this was going to stay Lee's room for now.

Lee was curious " Since all three of you are here I trust that the ones left on your and Eliza's base star are trustworthy Natalie?"

Eliza flinched, but Natalie answered " Yes Apollo they are, otherwise we would not be here "

Caprica was ready to get this over she missed Willow and wanted to see her. What she said next no one knew except her " Cavil picked up Leobon's trace marker and is now searching for him "

Eliza gasped " Can he find him?"

Caprica nodded " I am counting on it, I want Cavil and anyone with him close to that resurrection ship, so we can blow them all up at the same time "

Natalie asked " How are we going to do that?"

Caprica looked at Lee " You can explain it to them "

Lee nodded and laid out his plan "Your three base stars will stay out of range, but we will mount nukes on cylon attack ships who will jump in as soon as the heavy raider sees Cavil jump to the resurrection ship, sending the coordinates to the cylon fighters "

Kara finished up " That way we will all remain safe and Cavil and the rest will not be able to download "

Eliza shook her head " That won't work because Cavil always has a resurrection ship trailing him, but not to close in the event something like this happens "

Kara spoke again " Which is why your heavy raiders will be patrolling in the four different directions Cavil jumps in from and when the heavy raiders find it they will nuke it also "

Natalie finally spoke " It is a good plan and even if it doesn't work Cavil will suffer a lot of losses, knowing Cavil he probably won't jump in until he finds out if it is safe "

Caprica responded " That is probably true, but it will keep him busy enough for us to try recruiting more cylons, now we need to get prepared this could happen at any moment and we have to be ready "

Natalie asked " Caprica you know Starbuck and Apollo will need to be protected, so I think your base star should jump far away from here until it is over "

Caprica nodded " I know, which is why I wanted to ask Apolllo and Starbuck if we can meet with Commander Adama while you two handle this?"

Lee didn't like running away, but he knew Kara had to be protected and she wouldn't leave him here without her. " I think that can be arranged "

[ ]

Caprica waited until the others left " Apollo can you find the fleet?"

Kara answered " He can, and we need to go there now before Roslin can hold her meeting tomorrow denouncing Aurora and supporting Pythia "

Caprica was confused " Why would she do that if she believes in the gods?"

Lee shrugged " Roslin believes she is the dying leader Pythia wrote about to find us a home and not Aurora or her chosen one "

Caprica gasped " She will divide the fleet "

Kara sounded harsh " We know, which is why we have a back up plan "

Lee had just thought of something " Caprica if you are with us, then how will Boomer know when to destroy the 'Creations ' planet?"

Caprica jumped up " She won't, I need to change places with Natalie and you two need to get to her ship now, let's go "

As they ran to catch Natalie Caprica spoke " It will actually be better this way, Natalie is a better diplomat than I am "

Kara believed her, but she knew what Caprica was giving up " You won't get to see Willow "

Caprica spotted Natalie " I know Starbuck, wait up Natalie we have a change of plans "

Natalie listened as Caprica explained and after everyone said their good-byes Kara and Lee left with Natalie headed home.

[ ]

It was during late shift when the claxons went off on the Galactica.

Adama was on duty and sent the viper squadron out and placed a ship-wide call for Boomer to report to the CIC.

It was a base star except it had not made a move to destroy the fleet.

Boomer ran in " Boomer we have a base star just sitting out there, is it Caprica?"

Boomer shook her head no " Sir we need to open communications in the event it is another ally "

Adama ordered the channel open " This is Galactica Actual state your intentions "

Adama jumped when he heard Lee " Commander, Starbuck and I would like permission to have a talk along with Natalie, a cylon "

Adama looked at Boomer " What should we do?"

Boomer chuckled " Sir it is Starbuck and Apollo I think we should agree before they take matters into their own hands "

Adama chuckled " You're right, Apollo you three are cleared to land, but my guns stay aimed at the base star, understood?"

Starbuck laughed " Didn't expect anything less, sir "


	45. Chapter 45

A Different Beginning*****Chapter 45

Kara and Lee meet for the first time on the day the cylons attack.

A.N.-Even though I had no reviews on ( Chapter 44 ) I still intend to finish this story. I hope you enjoy this chapter as I am trying to tie up loose ends for future things.

[ ]

Adama left Colonel Tigh in charge of the CIC and placed a ship wide call for Sam Anders and his men to meet him on the flight deck.

After arriving there he told Chief Tyrol to clear the bay after they landed. Adama also called Colonel Tigh and told him to keep the viper squadron in the air in case it was a set up.

Adama and Boomer stood side by side as the raider Natalie piloted landed and he motioned Anders to spread out around the raider. Adama knew it was Lee and Kara, but he still needed to follow protocol.

Adama also wanted to keep this from Roslin hopefully until after she announced Mark as her vice-president.

Finally the raider opened up and he saw Lee and Kara standing at attention " At ease Captains "

Kara and Lee relaxed their stance and Kara looked behind her saying " It is safe to come out Natalie "

Natalie stepped up to Lee's side " Hello Commander Adama " Adama also noted that Sam and his men were not threatened by her.

Adama looked at Lee " I take it this is not Caprica, Captain?

Lee shook his head " No, Caprica had to stay because of her unique connection to Boomer, plus Caprica said Natalie was better at negotiations than her "

Kara chuckled " Sir, might I suggest we take this somewhere more private?"

Adama hated that he had not thought of that " Sure Starbuck, let's go to my office, I'm afraid the situation rooms have been used a lot lately "

Adama turned to Anders " I want you and your men to guard this raider, do not let anyone near it, understood?"

Anders nodded " Understood sir "

Lee walked beside his dad as Natalie and Kara followed them to Adama's office which Mathis was standing guard at.

Kara wondered what was going on " Why all the guards commander?"

Adama stepped through the hatch first and shut the door behind them before he answered " I trust very few people right now Captain "

Adama sat behind his desk as Boomer, Natalie and Kara sat on the couch leaving the chair across from the commander.

Kara cleared her throat " Commander I could use a drink before we get started "

Adama nodded as he stood up " What about the rest of you?"

Lee spoke up " I'll have one also " he then looked at Boomer and Natalie " We will just have water, thank you " Boomer answered for her and Natalie.

Adama fixed himself one along with Lee and Kara's and poured water for Boomer and Natalie before passing them out and sitting back down. " Who wants to explain what is going on?"

They all looked at Natalie.

Natalie scooted forward on the couch " Caprica and Eliza have set a trap for Cavil by using Leobons trace marker hoping he will try and find it "

Adama interrupted " I thought Leobon was boxed, so how will that work?"

Natalie nodded " He is, and we put another trace marker in him that will stay active as long as he is boxed, anyway we have a heavy raider hiding out of range and as soon as Cavil shows up with another basestar since he never travels alone the raider will transmit their location and our cylon fighters will jump in with nukes taking out the basestars and the resurrection ship Leobon is on "

Boomer asked " What about Cavil's resurrection ship, you know he always keeps it back?"

Lee spoke up " We have placed heavy raiders spread out just outside of the jump entry points and with any luck we will be able to destroy it also, if not we will have to continue fighting them "

Adama thought it might work except " Natalie what about your resurrection ships?"

Natalie smiled " We have them close by, but out of sight and out of download range "

Adama pulled the photo out of the ' Creations ' planet. " As soon as Boomer gets the go ahead from Caprica we are set to destroy the Creations planet " he paused thinking " Even if this all goes according to plan there will still be Cavil, Doral and Deanna's left to deal with "

Natalie agreed " Yes, and that is what I wanted to speak to you about "

Adama noticed the others didn't seem to know what she was talking about " What is it?"

Natalie looked around at the others, she had only discussed this with Caprica " If you allow our three basestars to join your fleet we will help destroy the HUB and stop downloading forever "

Adama thought it over " Do you trust all the copies on your basestars?"

Natalie nodded " Yes we do, but more importantly Starbuck will be free to find us a home with the other three cylons gone forever "

Adama sighed " That is exactly what Adam told me, but we have a major problem and that is the president "

Boomer stood up suddenly worried " Lee has a solution already in place for that, but our more immediate problem is having to explain to Roslin why there is a basestar out there right now "

Kara stood up and started pacing herself " Frak, we didn't even think about that "

Natalie calmly stated " We can always tell her that we believe in the Aurora prophecy and want to help the fleet fight the other cylons "

Lee shook his head " She doesn't believe that we should follow Aurora or her chosen one "

Adama smiled " Maybe not, but if Natalie spoke to her it might buy us some time until Mark becomes the vice-president "

Boomer stopped pacing " Natalie you can't mention Caprica or Eliza and you need to let her believe everything is her idea and it wouldn't hurt if you also said Pythia might be the one we should follow "

Adama agreed " Mark is being sworn in tomorrow around one or two o'clock and they both will be attending Eloshi's religious meeting in the ballroom on Cloud Nine "

Kara stopped in front of the desk next to Lee " What happens after that?"

Adama chuckled " Knowing her she will cause a riot among the civilians as she tries to divide the religious sects and I will place her in the brig to cool off while I find something to charge her with "

Kara grinned " Then Mark will have control of the presidential office, that's perfect, but we will have to act fast "

Adama agreed " Natalie if you don't mind I would like for you to talk to her tonight " Natalie nodded her okay " I will call her now and have her meet us here "

Adama stood up " Lee, I need you and Kara out of sight, I hope she doesn't find out you are here or we will have to come up with another story " Adama paused " Have Mathis escort you to visitors quarters, I trust her and you two are not to leave that room, understood?"

Kara grabbed Lee's arm pulling him up " That is one order I don't mind following " she said grinning as they left.

Adama smiled and shook his head " Boomer I need you in the CIC I suspect Caprica should be contacting you soon and I want you and Colonel Tigh to execute the destruction of the Creations planet while I deal with Roslin, your dismissed "

[***]

While Adama and Natalie waited on President Roslin,Natalie asked " If the president believes in Pythia why doesn't she believe in Aurora?"

Adama stayed leaning back in his chair since Natalie had moved to sit across the desk from him " Not many people know, but she has cancer and she takes chamomile which causes her to have visions and according to Pythia the dying leader will lead them to Earth and she refuses to believe anything else "

Natalie chuckled " So Apollo took steps to take care of the situation himself "

Adama grinned " Yes, and I actually believe it is going to work "

Natalie frowned " I hope so, or we may never find a new home "

They sat in silence for a while until there was a knock on the hatch.

Adama got up and opened the hatch " Hello Madame President, thank you for coming so quickly "

As she stepped in she sounded furious " I was already on my way, can you tell me why we did not blow that basestar to hades as soon as it showed up?"

Adama stayed calm " Come in I would like you to meet our guest " Adama waited until she saw her " This is Natalie and the basestar is hers, she is here to ask for our help and in return she will help us "

Natalie stood up and reached out to shake Roslin's hand " It is nice to meet you President Roslin "

Roslin was so shocked she shook the cylons hand without meaning to and let go quickly taking a step back.

Adama walked around them " Let's sit in the living room " Ordinarily Adama would have sat in his chair, but in this case he needed to stay between Natalie and Roslin, so he sat with Natalie on the couch. " Madame President why don't we listen to what Natalie has to say before saying anything?"

Roslin looked at him like she wanted to kill him for putting her in this position, but nodded her consent.

Natalie clasped her hands together in her lap " As I already told Commander Adama I stole a basestar off of Caprica after Cavil started acting differently, he became obsessed with Leobon and Kobol and started doing things without telling us about them " Natalie paused to gather her thoughts " Several of my models and some of the eights started noticing things also and came to me for answers, which I didn't have. After another week more models came forward, so we held a meeting and voted to leave Cavil and Caprica. Before you ask I made sure we all shared the same thoughts by using our method of knowing each others thoughts.

Adama stopped her a moment " Did Cavil try to hunt you down "

Natalie shook her head " No, which was also strange because he hates disloyalty, but it reinforced the idea that he was up to something larger "

Roslin spoke " Why should we trust you and why would you want to join us?"

Natalie dropped her head " We finally realized that Cavil had been lying to us all along, there is no cylon god and we put two and two together and knew he had been trying to make us believe he was our god " she paused again " We know your religion and believe that Pythia or Aurora will show someone the way to Earth and in return we will help you destroy the cylon HUB and end resurrection forever "

Roslin gasped " You mean we can finally get rid of the cylons?"

Adama smirked " Not all of them Roslin, the ones that choose to help us will become part of our future "

Roslin stood up " You don't mean that "

Adama stood also " Roslin I will not turn against the ones who help us and I know a lot of people that will agree with me, and I will not allow you to harm any of them, understood?"

Roslin walked toward the hatch " I will have to think about it and run it by the quorum, I will let you know tomorrow "

Adama almost shouted " Don't forget about the HUB just to save your pride "

Roslin slammed the hatch on the way out.

Adama turned to Natalie " Would you like to return to your basestar until tomorrow morning?"

Natalie stood up " Yes, and if you don't mind I will leave a line open so Boomer can tell me what happened with Caprica and Eliza "

Adama nodded " Sure, come on and I will walk you down to your raider before I head to the CIC and find out what's going on "

[ ]

When Adama entered the CIC it had already started " Boomer sitrep "

Boomer turned to face the commander " Cavil and another basestar fell for the trap, but the cylon fighters needed help, so Eliza jumped her basestar in and took out whose basestar we believed to be Deanna's and jumped out. Cavil is still holding on, but the good news is the heavy raiders found his resurrection ship, so if we can destroy the basestar he can't download "

Adama knew he needed to help if it was going to work " Boomer input the jump coordinates, we will jump in and help take down Cavil's basestar "

Colonel Tigh jumped into the conservation " We can't leave the fleet unprotected commander "

Adama grinned " They won't be unprotected Colonel, in case you forgot we have a friendly basestar out there "

Adama looked at Boomer " Tell Natalie to protect the fleet and then jump us "

Cavil had defeated the cylon fighters and was getting ready to jump to Caprica for reinforcements when the Galactica jumped in and immediately fired two nukes dead center of his basestar "

" Frak " was the last word the original Cavil would ever say.

The Galactica was only gone ten minutes at the most before rejoining the fleet.

[ ]

When Roslin left Adama's office she went to see Mark in life station. " Hey Mark I need a favor "

Mark sat up " Sure Laura what is it?"

Roslin sat down " I just left a meeting with the commander and a number six cylon who currently has a basestar in the fleet and she offered to help us destroy the Cylon Hub which would end cylon resurrection forever and in return she wants to join the fleet "

Mark chose his words carefully " That sounds like a good trade off especially if we can destroy the cylons that are against us "

Roslin smirked " I can't believe how much the commander is willing to trust the cylons, anyway I need to swear you in as soon as possible in the morning "

Mark knew why, but asked anyway " How would that help?"

Roslin stood up " I am going to need your support in case I have to make a case against the commander and the military to stop this insanity "

Mark had a bad feeling things were about to go sideways " I will have Cottle release me early and meet you on Colonial One at nine o'clock in the morning if that will help "

Roslin patted his shoulder " Thanks Mark, I will be waiting for you with the press there also, and then we are going to attend Eloshi's meeting and try to stop this Aurora nonsense "

Roslin felt the Galactica jump without any warning and stormed off muttering " What in the frak is he up to now?"

Mark laid back down and sighed hoping Lee's plan worked and wondered himself what Commander Adama was doing.

[ ]

Adama was making a fleet wide statement " I apologize if I alarmed any of you, but I didn't have time to explain, we received information on a cylon basestar and jumped in and destroyed it. As a matter of fact the cylons suffered severe losses today not only by us, but also by some of their own people " Adama paused a second before continuing " I will explain in more detail tomorrow to your quorum leaders, thank you for understanding, Adama out "

Adama turned to talk to Boomer " Has Caprica been updated?"

Boomer smiled " Yes sir and she said to thank you for you help, she also said she would access the situation and fill us in tomorrow "

Before anymore could be said Roslin stormed in " What in the frak did you do?"

Adama sighed " We blew up Cavils basestar and before you say it, I left the fleet under the protection of Natalie and her basestar and that is all I am going to say about it "

Adama moved to stand by Boomer and whispered " Kara and Lee are in quarters under orders not to leave and I would appreciate it if you filled them in since your shift is up "

Boomer saluted " Yes sir, I will take care of it now "

Roslin stormed off and headed back to Colonial One intending on finding out what was happening and why she wasn't being told.

[ ]

Kara and Lee were in the guest quarters they had been sent to.

Kara had plans for her and Lee later, but he needed to rest and eat before that could happen.

After making Lee lay down she opened the hatch and asked Mathis to have them something to eat sent up.

Lee waited until Kara closed the hatch " I would rest better if you laid down with me Kara "

Kara chuckled and walked over " Scoot over Lee and no funny business until you rest and eat "

Lee grinned and rolled onto his good side facing her and reached over to pull her closer to him" I'm fine Kara "

Kara turned on her side facing him and backed up a few inches " Stop Lee, Simon said you had to rest, so close your eyes and try to sleep or at least rest and I promise to make it up to you later "

Lee rolled his eyes " Fine, what do you think is happening right now?"

Kara was going to say she had no idea when the Galactica suddenly jumped " Why in the frak did we just jump?"

Lee shrugged " How in the frak should I know?"

The first thing they heard when they came out of the jump was Galactica firing nukes and then the Galactica jumped again.

Kara jumped up and went to the hatch opening it " Mathis what in the frak is going on?"

The marine shrugged " I don't know Captain, I'm sure someone will let us know soon "

Kara shoved the hatch closed " Nobody knows a frakking thing, we should have stayed with Caprica where we at least knew what was happening "

Lee was watching her rant and couldn't help but grin " I know you would think the chosen one would know everything "

Kara eyes jumped straight to his " It is not funny Lee, I hate being locked up "

Lee was about to say something else when someone knocked on the hatch.

Kara sprinted to the hatch jerking it open and finding Boomer standing there she grabbed her arm and pulled her into the room shoving the hatch closed.

Before Boomer could say a word Kara started " Tell me what is happening right now Boomer or I swear I am walking out of here "

Boomer went and sat on the edge of the bed " I was trying to Starbuck before you went ballistic "

Lee chuckled " What did happen Boomer?"

Kara leaned against the wall while Boomer explained everything.

Lee was shocked " Dad jumped away from the fleet just like that?"

Boomer nodded " Yes, but he left Natalie to protect the fleet "

Kara grinned " So the original Cavil is dead forever now?"

Lee gasped " I bet Roslin is beyond pissed "

Boomer chuckled " She was, she stormed out of the CIC "

Kara moved to sit on the bed " So I guess the old man wants us to stay put until Mark is sworn in and Eloshi's meeting is over "

Boomer shrugged " Yes, but if Roslin divides the fleet you may have to admit you are the chosen one to bring the fleet back together again "

Kara nodded " I figured as much, have you heard from Caprica since it all went down?"

Boomer stood up " Not yet, but I will let you know when I do, but right now I am heading to my rack after I shower " Boomer opened the hatch " Night guys "

Kara had just laid back down when they heard another knock, instead of getting up again Kara hollered at who ever it was " Come in "

It was Mathis with their food.

[ ]

The next morning Adama had Helo and Racetrack escort Mark to Colonial One with orders to stay with him in an unofficial capacity since Mark was dating Racetrack hoping Roslin would see it as such.

Helo and Racetrack still wore their colonial uniforms.

Helo headed down to the hangar to sign out the raptor while Racetrack went to life-station to walk down to the bay with Mark.

Mark filled Maggie in on why Roslin had moved the time up to swear him in as her vice-president.

Maggie listened until he finished " Roslin doesn't know that Lee and Kara are back on the Galactica and the commander doesn't want to tell her yet "

Mark looked over at her " Why not? "

Maggie shrugged " Athena said Boomer told her he didn't want to tell her they came with Natalie and he doesn't want any attention drawn to her when Eloshi mentions Aurora at her meeting "

Mark nodded " He is trying to protect her, but it will have to come out eventually "

Maggie frowned " I know, and if Roslin succeeds in splitting the people between following Pythia or Aurora Starbuck will be the only one who can bring the people back together "

No more was said between then as they reached the hangar deck and spotted Helo waiting on them.

Helo smiled and patted Mark on the shoulder " Are you ready to become vice-president Mark?"

Mark shrugged " Not really, but I will do what I have to do to make sure Kara can fulfill her destiny "

They all strapped in and left for Colonial One each lost in their own thoughts.

As soon as they landed and the raptor door opened Billy was standing there waiting on them " Hello Mr. Rivers, President Roslin has sent me to escort you to the meeting room "

Mark stepped down off the ramp and extended his hand to Billy who shook it, he knew he needed to start playing nice " Please call me Mark and you are Billy, right?"

Billy smiled " Yes sir I am, please follow me "

Mark stood still " I would like Maggie and Karl to join me, if that's okay "

Billy wasn't sure, but he agreed anyway " Alright, but we need to hurry they are waiting on you "

Mark walked beside Billy leaving Maggie and Karl walking behind them.

Helo leaned over and whispered to Racetrack " I bet Roslin won't like us being there "

Maggie grinned and whispered back " Since I am Mark's girlfriend she won't say anything about it, I don't think she would want to upset Mark "

Before Roslin allowed the press in and while she waited on Mark she told the quorum about the basestar and what the cylon wanted. " I need to know what each of you think "

The quorum representative from Caprica spoke up " If Commander Adama trusts the cylon then we can't pass up our only chance of stopping cylon resurrection, so I vote to take the cylon up on her offer "

Roslin hated that she was right " Does anyone else have an opinion?"

The Picon representative spoke next " I also agree under the condition that Commander Adama places marines on the basestar "

Roslin listened as all but two agreed with the plan " The majority rules, I will let the Commander know " she glanced at one of her aides " Let the reporters in, but do not tell them what we just discussed "

Billy and Mark entered the room from the side and stood just out of view while Roslin spoke to the quorum members who were sitting on the front row with the reporters standing behind them. " Priestess Eloshi could not be here, so I have asked Priestess Ella to swear in Mark Rivers as our Vice-President " Roslin looked to her right motioning for Mark to come stand with her, Mark walked out to stand with her " I would like you all to meet Mark Rivers and now bear witness to his swearing in "

Priestess Ella had walked over and stood before Mark as they turned sideways to the crowd " Please raise your right hand and repeat after me "

Mark did and as soon as they finished the reporters started firing questions at him. He made sure to answer them all and managed to keep a smile on his face the whole time.

Roslin finally stepped in " That will be all the time we have for now as most of you know we are attending Priestess Eloshi's meeting in the ballroom on Cloud Nine if any of you care to join us us "

One reporter asked to take pictures of the two of them together. They actually ended up posing for several before they managed to get away.

Then they were on their way to Cloud Nine along with Roslin who asked to ride over with them.

Roslin sat by Mark in the back and whispered " The quorum voted to allow the basestar to help us "

Mark looked at her " Laura it is the only chance we may ever have at stopping the cylons "

Roslin didn't like it but " I know, now I just need to stop Eloshi "

* * *

( Leave a comment )


	46. Chapter 46

A Different Beginning-Chapter 46

Kara and Lee meet for the first time the day the cylons attack.

Chapter-46-This chapter deals with what happened the day before with Caprica and Eliza as they blew up Cavil and Deanna's basestars along with their resurrection ships with help from the Galactica. Also the nuking of the Creations planet.

[ ]

Eliza was on her way to Caprica's basestar after the Galactica helped destroy Cavil's basestar and then jumped away.

Boomer had contacted Caprica after the Galactica jumped back to the fleet for an update " What are you going to do next Caprica?"

Caprica sighed " That depends on what the fleet decides on the offer Natalie presented them with "

Boomer had just left Lee and Kara and was currently standing in an empty supply closet " All I know for sure is that the commander and Natalie met with Roslin and she said she would let them know later today "

Caprica was pacing again it had become a habit of hers " Eliza is on her way here and I am going back to Caprica to pick up the sixes, eights and the rest of the Simon's, I just hope she agrees with me?"

Boomer could tell Caprica was troubled " Why wouldn't she?"

Caprica whispered " Because I think we should nuke Caprica before we leave in order to kill any remaining Cavils, Doral's or Deanna's buying us time until we destroy the Hub "

Boomer gasped " There are still humans on Caprica, you know the ones in the breeding farms and maybe even more survivors like the resistance "

Caprica practically sobbed " I know, but I don't know what else to do or who to ask if I should even do it "

Boomer slid down the wall " Caprica at least wait a day and I will try to find out if you should do it or not, but I think you should still return to Caprica and have the Simon's see if any of the women from the farms can be saved. You could also check out the detention centers and as far as the Cavil's are concerned they knew the original Cavil trusted you " Boomer thought of one more thing " I will check with Willow and have her ask Aurora if there are still humans on Caprica "

Caprica sighed " Okay, but what about Eliza they will kill her if they see her?"

Boomer stood up she was so tired " Leave Eliza orbiting Kobol for now and I will contact you later or tomorrow at the latest "

Caprica agreed " Okay, and if you see Willow tell her I said hello, and thanks for the advice Boomer "

Boomer cut the link and exited the small room heading for a shower, she would have to tell the Commander about Caprica before she could even think about sleeping.

[ ]

Boomer was so out of it she turned the corner and ran into the Chief making her step back quickly " Sorry Chief "

Tyrol had thought a lot about Boomer since everything had started happening and he knew the commander trusted her along with a lot of other people and if they could see her as Boomer and not as a cylon maybe he could to, especially since he realized he still loved her. " It's okay Sharon, are you okay?"

Boomer looked at him in surprise " Yeah I'm okay, just tired and this has been a long day and apparently I still have stuff to do "

Tyrol could tell she was tired and had a quick thought " I was on my way to grab some chow and I bet you haven't eaten today, so why don't you join me, it will at least give you a moment to rest ?"

Okay Boomer thought now I am officially shocked, but she also felt relief that maybe they could at least be friends even though she wanted more because she had never stopped loving him " Thanks Galen I would love to "

They both sighed as they walked together to the mess hall.

After getting their plates they sat at a table in the back away from traffic.

At first they ate in silence until Tryol spoke " I know something important is happening and I know you are right in the middle of it and I also know Commander Adama trusts you as well as Apollo and Starbuck, so I have to ask can you tell me anything about what is going on?"

Boomer put her fork down and looked at him " Galen I wish I could, but I am under strict orders not to say anything, I'm sorry "

Galen studied her a minute " Can you tell me if Starbuck and Apollo know anything?"

Boomer laughed " I will say that they are smack dab in the middle of all this "

Galen chuckled " That's not news, they are always right in the middle of everything "

Boomer thought for a long moment and finally decided she would ask him one thing " Galen even though I can't tell you anything can I ask you to do something for me without me having to explain why and you can't mention it to anyone, promise me?"

Galen knew she was worried " I promise Sharon, what do you need me to do?"

Boomer leaned closer to him and whispered " Whenever Starbuck is on the flight deck or anywhere you are please watch her back, absolutely nothing can happen to her and keep a look out for anyone you don't know "

Galen snorted " Since when has Starbuck not been able to take care of herself?"

Boomer slapped both hands on the table and whispered harshly " Since people will be trying to kill her if they get half a chance "

Somehow Galen knew that was Sharon's greatest fear, he just didn't know why " Okay Sharon I will keep an eye on her "

Boomer sat back " Thanks Galen and I promise to explain it all to you one day and thanks for asking me to eat with you, but I need to go so I can update the commander and hopefully grab a few hours of sleep "

Galen stood with her " Maybe we can eat together again when you have some free time "

Boomer smiled " Maybe we can " then she walked away.

Galen sighed as he headed back to the deck wondering where Starbuck and Apollo had disappeared to.

[ ]

Boomer had gone to the CIC only to be told the commander had gone to his office. Boomer knew he was probably taking a break, but she needed to tell the him about Caprica's plans.

She left the CIC heading straight to his office and knocked before she could talk herself out of it.

Adama had been filling out reports when he heard the knock instead of getting up he yelled " Enter "

He wondered who needed to see him now as he watched the hatch open up seeing Boomer who looked stressed out " Come in Boomer and have a seat you look tired "

Boomer took him up on his offer and sat across the desk from him " I filled Starbuck and Apollo in on what has happened, she is going stir crazy being in that room "

Adama chuckled " I figured as much, but we don't have much choice until after Eloshi's meeting, which could turn ugly, I sent a team of marines to Cloud Nine in case it gets out of hand, anything else you need to report?"

Boomer leaned back " I contacted Caprica, she is going back to Caprica to pick up the sixes, eights and the Simon's, but she thinks she should nuke Caprica after picking them up "

Adama sighed " You disagree with her plan?"

Boomer looked away for a moment before answering " Yes, I told her there could still be humans on the planet, I know there are women in the farms and may still be some people in the dentition centers plus there could be people like the resistance still hiding out "

What did you advice her to do " I told her to look for those people and I would ask Willow to contact Aurora to find out if there were still humans there before she nuked the planet "

Adama nodded " Good advice, I will call Adam and have him ask her, I can't take the chance of sending you over there, now go and grab a few hours of sleep and I will let you know what I find out "

Boomer stood up and exhaled " Thank you commander and I am heading to my rack now before something else comes up "

Boomer all of a sudden paused " We didn't destroy the Creations Planet during the cylon battle, why?"

Adama leaned forward " We needed to help Eliza and I knew that if we destroyed Cavil we would have time, so Athena and Helo are meeting with Natalie now coming up with a plan using armed raptors and Natalie's raiders armed with nukes "

Boomer nodded " How long before it's a go?"

Adama grinned " You have enough time to grab a couple of hours of sleep, I will have someone come and get you before we began "

Boomer sighed and went to leave.

Adama stood up " Boomer I want to thank you for everything you have done and I would like nothing more than to promote you and I will after Mark takes Roslin's place "

Boomer was stunned " Thank you sir and thank you for trusting me "

Adama steered her toward the hatch " Go and get some sleep, that is an order "

After Boomer left Adama realized they could have never come this far without her help, but he also knew her motivation for doing so was to protect Starbuck.

[ ]

On Caprica the eights and sixes were doing what their sisters asked, keeping an eye on the Doral's and Deanna's, but mostly on the Cavil's. That is when they found out the original Cavil had been killed and never down loaded and things were getting tense.

Without being told to Simon along with a six was trying to save as many women as possible at the farms, but some of them weren't going to live.

One of the eights was working in the hangar so far back that when a three and a one entered they did not see her. She stopped what she was doing and slowly made her way closer to them so she could listen to them.

The three and the one walked into the hangar bay and after making sure no one was around they stepped between two raiders.

One was agitated " Three who do you think is responsible for killing Cavil?"

Three rolled her eyes " It had to be Natalie, because Cavil and Deanna left here to follow Leobon's tracer which I'm guessing was a trap set up by Natalie "

One shook his head " We can't know that for sure, where is Caprica she might know?"

Three stomped away a few feet " I'm not sure, I know Cavil trusted her, but she could be helping Natalie "

One walked closer to her " I don't think so, remember she is the one who broke into the Colonials defense system so we could attack them "

Three looked at him " I still don't trust her and if she shows up we need to all connect in the stream "

One relented " Fine, but I still think we can trust her "

Eight waited until they walked out, she needed to warn the sixes and the Simon's along with her sisters. They didn't know much, but they knew enough that it would be bad for Caprica.

Eight took a raider up to a basestar hoping to verbally warn as many as possible to stay away if Caprica came back and Deanna or Cavil called a meeting.

[ ]

Eliza arrived shortly after Caprica spoke to Boomer. Even though Boomer had asked her to wait she was still going to run her thoughts by Eliza.

Caprica was standing beside the hybrid listening to her babble as she waited on Eliza to join her, as soon as she saw her she went to meet her " We need to talk in private let's go to my room "

Eliza fell in beside her walking " I was surprised when the Galactica jumped in earlier today, it could not have happened at a better time, Cavil was just about to jump "

Caprica kept walking but responded " I know Boomer told me and he left Natalie guarding the fleet, I'm not sure what the fall out from that will cost him "

Eliza stopped after entering Caprica's room and waited for the door panel to close " Did Boomer say anything about the Creations planet?'

Caprica glanced at Eliza startled that she hadn't even thought about it " She didn't say and I forgot about it "

Eliza sat down " It doesn't matter with Cavil and the resurrections ships gone I'm sure they will get to it if they haven't already, they still have the rest of the day "

When Caprica didn't comment and continued pacing Eliza knew something was bothering her " What's wrong Caprica?"

Caprica finally sat across the small table from her and told her everything that she and Boomer had talked about.

Caprica waited for Eliza to say something " What do you think I should do Eliza?"

Eliza seemed to think about it and smiled " Well if we think like Starbuck and Apollo and wanted to get rid of some of the models, but protect the humans we should be able to come up with something "

Caprica thought about it " Knowing Starbuck she would blow up the basestars and any resurrection ships near by, but we would have to get our people off first "

Eliza picked up where she left off " Apollo would insist on a recon first to save as many of the cylons on our side as possible "

Caprica was getting excited now that she had somewhat of a plan " You need to keep your basestar back and pick out a team of nine consisting of three of each of the sixes, Simon's and eights and you can take two heavy raiders from my basestar along with yours. Right before I land you need to leave my basestar discreetly and split up and go different ways and when you find our models have them jump to your basestar "

Eliza nodded in agreement " Okay, but what are you going to do?"

Caprica smiled " I am calling a meeting with the Cavil's, Doral's and the Deanna's and keep them occupied while you put your plan in motion, as soon as you are clear let me know "

Eliza stood up " What will we do then? "

Caprica stood up also ready to start " The humans will have to wait to be picked up after we destroy the basestars and the resurrection ships "

After an hour Eliza returned in a raider carrying the nine member team. After they got out of the raider she started assigning them to certain places " I am taking one eight and a six with me to the raider hangar bay because that is where most of my sisters should be, Simon I want a six and another Simon with you to head to the farms and convince them they have to leave we will be coming back for the humans afterwards " she paused looking at the last team an eight, a Simon and six " I need you three to to split up six I need you to go to Cavil's basestar and very carefully explain everything to them, eight and Simon I need you both to split up also covering the other basestars "

A six had a question " What if they try to stop us?"

Caprica answered " Kill them and most of the centurions have already been instructed to do the same thing when one of us gives the order " Caprica felt she should explain " Natalie told the sixes how to change the centurions directives before she left "

No one said anything more.

Caprica had them split into the groups Eliza had chosen and had them get into the raiders and then landed on Caprica right after the three raiders flew out of her ship.

[ ]

Athena and Helo had returned with mission plans for the planet he looked them over while they explained.

Helo spoke first " Sir Natalie and us agree that with four armed raptors and six of her cylon raiders strapped with nukes we should be able to jump in and blow it up fairly easy "

Athena spoke next pointing out where they would each be located " Natalie has the jump plots down, so that we can hit the planet from all sides, she said she could probably do it own her own, but thought if we were going to work together we needed to start now "

Adama agreed " I think so also, but I would rather my raptor pilots agree instead of me ordering them to do it "

Helo understood " We have Athena and I am almost certain Racetrack and Crashdown will agree and we could use Boomer " Adama spoke up " No, I want Boomer in the CIC not on this mission, I count on her to keep things running smoothly, we need to think of someone else.

Athena thought of someone, but hated to suggest it " Since Roslin is busy on Colonel one preparing for tomorrow we could use Apollo "

Adam and Helo both spoke at the same time "No " then Adama "No, I would not be able to keep Starbuck from going, think of someone else "

Helo suddenly thought about " Duck would do it and Keeper would go as his ECO they have flown together before"

Athena agreed " He's right commander and Skulls is Racetrack's Eco, Helo is mine and we could use JoJo as Crashdown's ECO, they are all loyal to Starbuck "

Adama turned to Helo " Get them together and make sure they keep it to themselves for now, be ready to leave in half an hour "

He turned to Athena " Boomer is asleep in her rack go wake her up and fill her in and let her know she will be controlling this mission from the CIC and let Natalie know my raptors will be going with her on her basestar, you are both dismissed and good hunting "

They both left the situation room and Adama headed to the CIC hoping Roslin would be to preoccupied to know it had even happened "

When he reached the CIC he pulled Tigh to the side and explained to him what was about to happen and told him to inform Gaeta so he would know to keep quite when the basestar jumped away.

When Boomer made it to the CIC all of the raptors were ready and she used the line open to Natalie to let her know she was sending the raptors now.

Next she gave orders for the raptors to leave, now they just had to wait.

As they waited Adama wished he knew what would happen at Eloshi's meeting tomorrow, it was just as important as this if not more.

Thirty minutes later Natalie jumped back and told Boomer over their secure line the ' Creations ' planet was destroyed and the Galactica raptors were heading back.

Adama was amazed at how much they had accomplished in a day, but he had not had a chance to speak to Adam yet.

Adama left Colonel Tigh and Boomer in the CIC as he went to meet the raptors on the hangar deck.

He knew it had gone well when they all stepped off their ramps smiling.

[ ]

Ten minutes after Caprica landed a three, a one and the original Doral had stomped into the control room.

Three of course started right in " Where in the frak have you been?"

Caprica turned her back continuing to pretend she was doing something important.

Doral walked up next to her " Where have you been Caprica ? "

She turned to face him " First I went to Kobol, but the fleet had gone, so I searched for Leobon using the trace marker Cavil had put into him and sent out cylon raiders trying to find the fleet, when I did not accomplish either of those things I returned here " She looked at all of them " Satisfied now and where is Cavil?"

The three sneered at her " Your sister Natalie killed him and Deanna along with their resurrection ships and I willing to bet you helped her "

Caprica did her best to show astonishment " You are wrong and are you sure it was Natalie?"

One approached her " I believe you because Cavil trusted you, but the others want you to connect with them so they can be sure "

Caprica threw up her arms " Fine, let's get this over with so we can find out what is going on "

Caprica had already filtered out what she didn't want them to know and placed her hand in the stream of goo waiting on them. They all walked up and placed their hands in also and while they were reading her thoughts she read theirs.

The one pulled his hand out followed by the others " I told you Caprica was not responsible and she knows no more than we do "

Three didn't like it, she had been so sure " Fine "

Doral spoke " We need to know who helped Natalie and why she would kill Cavil and Deanna "

Caprica knew they needed to hurry she knew the three was going to take matters into her own hands by trying to replace Cavil as the leader, so Caprica decided to slow her down " I think with the original Cavil and Deanna gone only another original one should replace him "

Caprica also hoped they would stay and try to come to a conclusion on who that should be, so she could buy Eliza and the others more time.

Three sneered at her again " I suppose you think it should be you?"

Caprica shrugged " It doesn't matter to me one way or the other I plan on following our gods plans " she almost said gods and remembered at the last second and added our.

Doral spoke again " Boomer is gone so that leaves her out and Cavil and Deanna are gone for good, Leobon has been boxed and I am sure Natalie boxed the original after using him for bait so that leaves me, Caprica and Simon, we need the other models to put it to a vote, so call them in Caprica "

Caprica still hadn't heard from Eliza, she needed to stall " I want to know if Cavil placed a tracker in you or me first Doral "

Doral spoke harshly " I had no idea Cavil had placed a tracer in Leobon, how do you know about it?"

Caprica could safely answer since Cavil never down loaded " He told me about it so I could help search for him "

Three asked " Why would he do that it goes against our trust?"

Doral answered " Probably because of his infatuation with Starbuck "

Caprica nodded " That is why, he told me he was afraid of what Leobon might do "

Caprica finally got Eliza's signal which was simple " I need to speak to Cavil it is an emergency"

Everyone looked at Caprica " I guess I'm not the only one who didn't know about Cavil and now I am afraid this meeting is over " she paused long enough to command her centurions standing at her side "Eight we have a go proceed "

The others looked puzzled until the centurions raised their weapons at them shooting them where they stood.

Caprica ordered them to " Throw them off my ship, we have to go " she would find out later what took so long and hoped they were able to get most of their people.

Once in orbit along with Eliza she ordered all the basestars and resurrection ships destroyed.

Caprica then called a meeting between Simon, Eliza and herself.

Simon immediately wanted to go back for the women. " We will Simon as soon as we make sure we finish killing any models the centurions missed, so I suggest we have some of our people go down in raiders to confirm while Eliza and I keep watch in case any basestars so up, I will let you decide who goes back down "

Simon left and Caprica looked at Eliza " Was there any problems?"

Eliza sighed " It took a lot to convince Simon to leave, at least that is what six reported and there was trouble on the basestars our cylons had to kill some of their brothers and sisters, it was hard on them, but they did their job" Eliza paused a minute " You know at some point we are going to have to tell them the reason we asked them to do this "

Caprica sighed, something else she had been doing a lot lately " I know and we will after the fleet agrees to let us join them, besides we need to make sure we don't have any moles among us "

Eliza laughed " That's simple just have them link up, I know it will take time, but it looks like we might be here a couple of days and I will take care of it, that is if you trust me "

Caprica rolled her eyes " Of course I trust you Eliza and I am glad you offered I need to project and relax for a while "

Eliza got up " Go ahead Caprica, I will start with my basestar first and come back over here and start later " right before she left she added " You know you, Boomer and Simon are the only original models left, I hope there won't be any problems "

Caprica had already stood up to retire to her room " It won't be, we all want the same thing now "

[ ]

A.N.- I apologize for any mistakes and I think I wrapped up everything so Caprica and Eliza can deal with any survivors left on Caprica. Plus everyone in the fleet is now ready for Eloshi's big meeting and deciding on letting the three basestars join the fleet, so Kara can finally be free to find them a home.

* * *

( Leave a comment)


	47. Chapter 47

A Different Beginning-Chapter 47

Kara and Lee meet for the first time on the day the cylons attack their home worlds.

This chapter picks back up with Roslin on her way to Eloshi's meeting and Caprica and Eliza dealing with things on Caprica.

[ ]

A Different Beginning

Caprica woke up and realized she had slept through the night. She felt so much better, she knew she was tired both physically and emotionally, she just hadn't realized how much until she woke up. Eliza must have kept anyone from bothering her, she would have to thank her for that.

She knew it was going to be a long day, so she put on a pair of black pants and a loose fitting red t-shirt and a pair of black boots, since her hair had grown longer she put it back in a pony tail, so she would be comfortable. Her models and herself in the past tended to dress up making themselves look beautiful, but today she dressed for a long day of work, besides ever since talking to Aurora she had changed on how she saw herself.

When she entered the control room on her ship she saw Eliza had already began the process of linking the models in Caprica's group that would be staying on her basestar.

Eliza had seen Caprica when she entered the room and after finishing with the group she had been scanning she took a break and walked over to stand by Caprica.

Caprica waited for Eliza to stand beside her as she looked over the scans " Did everyone clear on your basestar?"

Eliza shook her head sadly " No, I had two eights who it seems have been talking to one of the Deanna's and they questioned if what we were doing was right "

Caprica hadn't expected that, especially from two eights " What did you do with them?"

Eliza waited until a six passed near them before she answered " I have locked them in separate rooms for now, I wasn't sure what you would want me to do "

Caprica thought about it " Keep them locked up for now and if you find any others on my basestar we will try talking to them before doing anything drastic "

Caprica changed the subject " Have the Simon's been able to save any of the women from the farms?"

Eliza turned to face Caprica, so she could make sure no one was listening to them " Out of the three farms they were able to save about thirty women, I had them put in a couple of rooms on my basestar, so the Simon's could monitor them, I don't think they will all make it and the six and the Simon's destroyed the farms "

Caprica nodded " What about the dentition centers? "

Eliza looked away for a moment " They found about thirty-five men and fifteen young boys, they were pretty much starved as well as tortured, I didn't have any idea that Cavil was having them tortured especially the boys " Eliza frowned " I had four of the Simon's put them here on your ship and they agreed to stay with them and feed them and try to convince them they are safe now, they will also be tending to their wounds, again I doubt they will all make it "

Caprica had known about it and had tried to talk Cavil out of torturing them " Where there anymore humans hiding out ?"

Eliza smiled " We found some of the resistance people that had been left because Anders thought they were dead and they have agreed to help us out with the women and the men and boys, I don't think there is any more humans on Caprica "

Caprica hated there were so few and most of them were hurt " Have all the other models been eliminated by the centurions?"

Eliza nodded " We think so, but there could be some hiding out, are you going to nuke Caprica or wait on Boomer before doing so?"

Caprica was about to say she would wait on Boomer when the scans lit up showing that a basestar had jumped in, Eliza saw it to " Leave now Eliza and as soon as you get back to your ship we are nuking Caprica and jumping out of here, I was afraid there would be more basestars out there somewhere, we need to meet up with the fleet and destroy the HUB as soon as possible "

Eliza took a step then stopped " I haven't finished scanning the models on your ship yet "

Caprica knew they needed to hurry " Just go, after we blow this planet up we will finish scanning before joining the fleet "

The basestar jumped away before Caprica could attack it, so she and Eliza left the surface and nuked Caprica before jumping to meet up at a pre-set of coordinates.

With the radiation level on Caprica she knew that it was not habitable for humans and she didn't want to leave it intact for any cylons.

Caprica would not try and find the fleet until she heard from Boomer.

Caprica decided the best thing she and Eliza could do for now would be to try and locate the HUB.

[*******]

Adama was in the CIC getting ready to listen to Eloshi's fleet-wide broadcast.

He knew his presence would not be needed there as he was military and this meeting was supposed to be a religious gathering. It would also turn into a political one with President Roslin, her vice-president and the quorum members attending.

As far as Adama knew most of the fleet had heard about Kobol and the Temple of Athena and that it had turned out to be a map of sorts to Earth.

They also knew that Eloshi had at one time supported Roslin and the Scrolls of Pythia, but now they were going to hear Eloshi changing her support to Aurora instead of Pythia as the way to finding the fleet a new home.

And after Eloshi announced that Aurora's chosen one was in the fleet Adama had a feeling the meeting would quickly turn into a religious war with Roslin stoking the fires. He knew the fleet would divide itself between the two and he would have to step in.

Adama was counting on his marines and Helo and Racetrack to maintain order if they could.

Then he would have an even bigger problem when he allowed three basestars to join the fleet. He knew then that he would have to give a fleet-wide message along with supporting Eloshi and her belief in Aurora and her chosen one.

[*******]

Eloshi had been in the ballroom preparing for the meeting an hour before it began with most of the people from the Aurora there to lend her support.

Adam would also be there now that most of the cylons had been dealt with and no one except a few knew who he really was, but he had to be there to back Eloshi up for Kara since she was told to stay away.

About eighty percent of the fleet believed in the Lords of Kobol while the rest would choose a side based on who they knew or stay out of it all together.

Eloshi had decided to keep it simple, but would admit to speaking to Aurora herself. She hoped it would be enough to get most of them to believe her.

Willow had wanted to attend, but Adam and Eloshi had told her it would be to dangerous and even though a lot of people had seen her in the restaurant no one had recognized her with her hair cut short and dyed, but that didn't mean someone at the meeting might, especially if there were cylons hiding in the fleet.

Adam had found Willow a place where she could listen and watch without being seen, so she agreed to the precaution because she really wanted to hear what was said about Aurora.

[******]

Racetrack had landed on Cloud Nine and she, Helo, Mark and President Roslin had left the raptor and waited outside of Cloud Nine long enough for the press to meet up with them.

Roslin faced the press and told them to enter right before the meeting started, so Eloshi wouldn't have time to keep them out.

The four of them walked in thirty minutes before, so Roslin could speak with Eloshi one last time hoping to change her mind.

Roslin and Mark approached Eloshi only for Roslin to find Adam sitting with Eloshi. " Adam why are you here?"

Adam remained sitting " I happen to agree with Eloshi and have offered her my support Madame President "

Roslin turned to Mark " I thought he was your friend and business partner Mark?"

Mark took a seat " He is Laura, but I will not tell anyone who or what they should believe when it comes to religion "

Helo and Racetrack stood over to the side and it was Helo who saw the marines as they took up positions out of sight. Helo nudged Racetrack letting her know about the marines.

Racetrack whispered " The commander is prepared in case something happens "

Helo chuckled " Don't you mean when something happens, because it will "

Roslin tried one last time " Eloshi I wish you would not do this, you yourself once believed that Pythia was the answer "

Eloshi sighed " Madame President I have spoken to Aurora and even though I am a follower of Pythia even I know to believe Aurora when she says her chosen one is the one whom we should follow, and I didn't need chamomile to make me believe her "

Roslin gasped " That was uncalled for Eloshi "

Eloshi stood up " I warned you that Aurora told you to back off and that is exactly what you should do, now I have things to do, excuse me and congratulations Mr. Rivers on your vice-presidency "

Mark stood up " Thank you Priestess Eloshi "

Adam told him congratulations also before following Eloshi.

[*******]

Natalie was on her basestar preparing to listen to the Priestess Eloshi. She hated that she could not tell her sisters and the others with her about Aurora, but they would soon hear it all including the chosen one being in the fleet. Commander Adama had been kind enough to allow them to listen.

Boomer had not been able to tell her if she had heard from Caprica today and that had her worried. Natalie was also anxious to see Willow whom she had heard so much about, but it was not possible right now.

While she waited she went to speak to one of the marines that Adama had placed on her basestar, he told her it was what the Quorum wanted, at least they had agreed to let her stay with the fleet.

She tried to remember his name " I'm sorry Corporal I have forgotten you name and I wanted to see if you or the others needed anything ?"

Corporal Tanner smiled " It is Tanner ma'am, and if you have some water that would be nice "

Natalie nodded and after telling one of the eights to bring some water she turned back to face him " You can call me Natalie Corporal, do you mind if I ask why you don't seem afraid to be here or why you have been so kind?"

Tanner smiled " It is simple really, the Commander seems to trust you as does Apollo and that helps, but I know Starbuck and I trust her instincts and I know that she trusts you, so that is good enough for me and my team "

Natalie laughed " When I first met her I didn't know what to think, but I got used to her in the short time we spent together and the one thing I learned about her that stuck with me was how loyal she is to the people of this fleet " Natalie paused " From what I saw when she was with Apollo made me believe she would give her life for his without a seconds thought, they must really love each other "

Tanner liked to gossip when he could get away with it and it didn't feel as odd as he thought it would talking to a cylon, after accepting his water and taking a drink he looked at her again " Apollo would die for Starbuck just as quickly, we always assumed there was something between them and they always have each others back whether it is in the air or on the ground " he took another drink then chuckled " There were so many bets placed on when they would finally hook up, but they have had their share of problems and then some and they are always the first in the air to protect this fleet. I guess what I am trying to say is most of the people on the Galactica respect them even if they sometimes drive us crazy when they fight "

Natalie chuckled " Boomer told us about some of their fights, so do you think President Roslin and Priestess Eloshi will finally agree about how the search for a home should proceed or do you think they will divide the fleet?

Corporal Tanner frowned " We don't really know what is going on, just what we have heard from people gossiping, so I really don't know what the meeting is about other than it is a religious matter, but something makes me think you do "

Natalie nodded " I do, but I am not allowed to discuss it, anyway everyone is about to find out as soon as the meeting starts, thank you for talking with me Corporal Tanner, I need to head back to the control room " she paused wanting to let him know he wasn't alone " No one on this basestar knows except me, so I am sure I will have to answer a lot of questions when it is over "

Tanner nodded " Thanks for the water "

Natalie walked away and went to the control room where a lot of the cylons had already gathered.

[ ]

Athena was waiting with Apollo and Starbuck in the room they had been assigned to. Since Helo was on Cloud Nine and Boomer was in the CIC she didn't want to listen by herself " Thanks for letting me listen with you guys"

They had been sitting on the bed playing cards and Starbuck looked up " Sure, thanks for bringing cards and breaking up the monotony, Apollo and I were about to have a sparring match, so we wouldn't end up killing each other "

Lee chuckled " Starbuck has no patience, I was about ready to call Cottle and have him give her something to knock her out for a while, just so I could finally have some silence "

Athena grinned " I figured you guys would be burning off steam in more personal ways since you are alone in here "

They both looked at her and rolled their eyes and Lee chuckled and added " We learned there is a limit to how much alone time two people can burn off energy frakking "

Kara smirked " Fraking Lee , I thought you said we were making love?" she said joking.

Lee back tracked fast " We were at first Kara, but I think even you know the difference by now, or at least you should "

Starbuck sighed and let that subject drop " Frak I will be glad when Eloshi starts this meeting, so I can finally get out of this room, I am seriously thinking about going to stay with Natalie for a couple of days, at least over there I won't run into Roslin"

Lee was worried " Kara I don't think this meeting is going to go well, I know dad is expecting Roslin to start something, he even sent a team of marines over there "

Athena folded " I am afraid they will demand Eloshi to tell them who the chosen one is " Athena had a sudden thought " Speaking of Natalie, Starbuck it might be better if you go over there now, because if Eloshi tells them they will start demanding to see you and try to board the Galactica "

Lee jumped up " She is right Kara, Athena head to the hangar bay and prep a raptor and I will call the commander and set it up, we have at least fifteen minutes to get off of the Galactica "

Athena left and Kara stood up excited to be leaving " What should I do?"

Lee looked at her " Pack our things at least enough for a couple of days while I call dad "

Kara started packing as Lee called the CIC and waited for his dad to pick up on a secure line " Dad, Athena thinks it would be safer for Kara if we go stay on Natalie's basestar just in case Eloshi has no choice but to name Kara, I sent Athena to prepare a raptor and we will need clearance in ten minutes to take off "

Adama was worried about the same thing and he knew the fleet would not try and board the basestar " Athena is right Lee, at least until we find out how this meeting ends up, I'll have Boomer contact Natalie and let her know to expect you both and Boomer will give you clearance for take off. There is no need for anyone else to know where you will be, I'll contact you later, and Lee you need to hurry "

" Thanks dad " Lee hung up and found Kara had finished packing " You ready to leave Starbuck "

Kara grinned " You bet your sweet ass I am, now let's go " Kara opened the hatch to find Mathis " We have new orders, so we won't be needing you for a couple of days "

Mathis saw their duffel's " At least let me escort you to the hangar bay "

Lee nodded " Good idea, but we have to hurry "

Athena had to wait while Chief Tyrol checked with the commander before letting her get a raptor ready. She was finishing pre-flight when Starbuck and Apollo entered the raptor.

Kara took the pilots chair " Thanks Athena, we have it from here "

Athena surprised Kara by sitting in the co-pilots chair " I am going with you, I need to get off the Galactica for a while with Helo gone and I want Simon to check on the baby "

Apollo sat in the ECO chair " It's okay with me, besides we might need you or you might need us, let's go Starbuck get us out of here "

Kara turned and rolled her eyes at him " I'm going as fast as I can for fraks sake, and speaking of Simon I want you checked out also to make sure your lung is healing properly "

Boomer's voice filtered through her helmet " Raptor 210 you are cleared to leave "

Starbuck answered " Thanks and let Helo know we have Athena "

Raptor 210 lifted off and Kara took a deep breath " Thank gods we got out of that room "

When they landed on the basestar there was a six Kara didn't know waiting on them " Natalie said to hurry the meeting is about to be broadcast "

They took off trotting to the control room and heard Eloshi when they entered " I would like to thank you all for coming today, I have a very important message to relay to everyone from Aurora "

[ ]

Sorry to end it here, I wanted to get everyone in position before Eloshi finishes dropping the bomb, so to speak.

* * *

( Leave a comment


End file.
